Street Numbers to Change!

[Michael Alexander]

I don't know if I should laugh or cry!

I have lived here since 1972 , and therefore am entitled to my opinion!

It is the norm all over Africa, once the shackles of colonialism have been removed to embark apon a number of exercises to rectify the past.....

One of these being the name changing of streets and buildings..... I agree with this....

However, why on earth would you want to take the perfectly working street naming of Oranjemund and start to meddle with a proven method.

I can fully understand if Oranjemund had street names like Kaiser Wilhelm and Kurt Von Francois, but we don't , we have never had colonial names in this town.

The streets are laid out in a grid system, 100% perfectly functioning system...... an easy system for visitors to our town to navigate......... simple maths, simple numbers.....1,2,3,4,.......

I recall back in the day when new street names like Flamingo and Pelican were introduced by the mine...... confusion reigned, even to this day, after residing here for 44 years, I still do not know where some of these streets are....

The Oppenheimer bridge and The Eric Davies Hall are up for name change, it seem's that the naming committee has deemed Mr.Oppenheimer and Mr.Davies as colonialists.......... if you knew your history correctly you might not be so blinded by old school politics......

Next up, the cost factor, it boggles my mind that we have a local council and leaders that can embark on such time wasting, not to mention money wasting exercises....... surely, surely there are more important issues to worry about than dismantling a perfectly working street numbering system.......

As I said, at the beginning of my rant, Yes, we should change names that reflect our Colonial past, but in Oranjemund, I know of no Colonial names. Just simple numbers....

I also agree that we can honor some of our heroes and leaders with naming buildings and streets after them, but within reason....

I know some folk ain't gonna be happy with my posting, but I feel after living here for so long, I should be able to express my viewpoint ......

In closure, the committee should think about what names they can call the new upcoming sections of the town.....

Just my 2 cents worth....

[Bertie Horak]

I agree 100% Mike.  I'm sure the money can be spent better, like seeing to the 100 year old water pipe problem.
At least I'll always know where E10/11 is.

[Adriaan Van Rooyen]

I agree Mike ,why don't they put their time ,energy and money where it matters the most ,our current water system and even roads needs serious attention,but once again Africa surfaces....

[Andrew Darné]

Yet again the perfect potrayal of post-colonial African trends stick their misdirected heads out...

It seems like non-discriminatory names are of a greater concern than life supporting reources like sanitation, potable water and stable electricity.

Will the relevant parties ever ever take cognisance of the real needs of the people of Namibia and attend to these issues first before wasting time and valuable finances with nonsensical name changing.

I hear you Mike.... all the way to the Oppenheimer bridge and back to George Square.