Three places in the Eastern Cape could be facing a possible name change, following the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee’s push to replace colonial-era place names with indigenous ones.
According to BusinessTech, a pre-planning meeting in Port Alfred last week drew more than 250 stakeholders, marking the first step in what could be a significant shift for the region’s map.
The changes would correct colonial adaptations of indigenous words and reverse cultural erasure in these Eastern Cape towns.
Eastern Cape towns face a name change
The committee plans to rename the seaside town of Port Alfred, the farming town of Alexandria, as well as the Kowie River.
Under the current proposal, Port Alfred would be renamed either iCawa or iCoyi, the Kowie River would become iQoyi, and Alexandria would be renamed Nkosi Chungwa or eMnyameni.
Christian Martin, chairperson of the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Council, said the changes follow international guidelines on correcting colonial place names.
He explained that “Kowie” is a colonial adaptation of a Khoi word, while “iQoyi” is its isiXhosa equivalent. In his view, these names were never neutral.
The proposals have sparked concern among residents, business owners, and tourism operators, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) also coming out strongly against the changes, urging Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie to block the application.
“Renaming Port Alfred, which is an international tourism hub, and Alexandria would deal a devastating blow to the tourism brand and economy of these towns,” the DA said, as per BusinessTech.
The consultation process is ongoing, with no final decision yet on whether the proposed names will be adopted.
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