ActionSA slams City of Joburg’s proposal to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is under fire after announcing that it is proposing to rename the popular street Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, but ActionSA says the name change offers zero benefits to the residents of the City.
The City of Joburg metro announced the proposal on September 18, urging interested and affected people or parties to submit their comments or representations within 28 days.
“The proposed re-naming is in terms of the City's approved Policy on the Naming of Streets and Other Public Places within the City Of Johannesburg,” the City said.
Who is Leila Khaled?
Leila Khaled is Palestinian resistance icon who made history in 1969 by becoming the first woman to hijack an airplane, at the age of 25.
Khaled is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP ) and currently lives in Amman, Jordan.
The 80-year-old was born in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine.
Joburg's proposal to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, has been met with opposition from parties, one of which is ActionSA.
The party’s Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni opposed the renaming of the street, saying he believes ‘Sandton Drive’ is a perfectly neutral and unifying name.
He said the current name of the street is a perfectly appropriate name for a heterogeneous and cosmopolitan society such as Johannesburg.
“As ActionSA, we will leave no stone unturned to lobby all political parties in the City of Johannesburg to vote against this proposal as we believe it offers no benefits whatsoever to the residents of our great city.”
Ngobeni said the party is not against the renaming of public landmarks to reinforce the City’s heritage, as it honours those who have played a significant role in history and strengthens our collective identity.
But he expressed concern about the challenges that the metro is grappling with, including service delivery failures, crippling water shortages, rampant unemployment, severe housing shortages, crumbling infrastructure and rising crime rates.
He said the pressing challenges require urgent attention rather than renaming a street.
“Therefore, diverting our attention and very scarce resources to name-changing a street name that is not even offensive to anyone will be a demonstration of a tone-deaf administration.”
Ngobeni said the City’s power entity, City Power reported that 81,000 street lights are not working across the municipality.
“In addition, an average of 1,000 potholes are reported to the City each week, but only about 4,500 potholes are fixed each month.”
Ngobeni said it is crucial that such road projects be prioritised, to ensure the safety and well-being of affected residents.
He called on residents to oppose this proposal by sending their comments and submissions to the City.
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