Zille opposes name change of CT international airport

By Tarryn Le Chat
05 March 2007

Cape Town mayor Helen Zille is strongly opposed to the proposal made by Premier Ebrahim Rasool to rename Cape Town International Airport.

According to reports, the premier believes the DA-led city of Cape Town and the ANC provincial government are on the same page.

The premier first proposed the name change to James La Guma in his state of the province address.

James La Guma was the former leader of the Communist Party, the Coloured People’s Congress and the Industrial and Commercial Union.

Mayoral spokesperson, Robert MacDonald said, “The mayor believes the airport is an internationally known brand and would be counter-productive to rename it. The costs would out-weigh the benefits and it would take a while before the new name would be known.”

However, Spokesperson for the premier, Shado Twala said, “The point the premier is trying to make is to engage debate around name changes in public places and spaces in relevance to our new democracy.”

Blanche La Guma, daughter-in-law of the late James La Guma, said that even though it is just a proposal, she is very pleased and honoured for the accolade presented by the premier.

Reports stated that only the Minister of Arts and Culture, Palo Jordan has the authority to change the name of the airport and the Western Cape municipality only had rights to rename street names.

Names within the national government’s scope include towns, airports, harbours, highways and mountains.