Today the DA launches its national online petition to object against the gazetted name changes of Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha, and Uitenhage to Kariega.

Follow this link to sign now: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/stop-nmb-name-changes

We believe the public participation process was steamrollered through by the ANC and that most people were kept in the dark regarding the proposed names.

The names Gqeberha and Kariega have very little historical meaning, will cost the government millions of rands to implement, have a far-reaching effect on the economy, and do not promote unity or transformation.

The people of the Eastern Cape are living in poverty and have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Spending millions of rands on name changes is a slap in the face of our people.

We call on everyone to support the DA’s effort to ensure a transparent and inclusive name change process that will unite everyone who calls the Metro home.