September 26, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
SIX streets in Alexandra, in the north of Joburg, are to be renamed to mark the 50th anniversary of the Azikhwelwa bus boycott.
A full sitting of the council approved the proposals on the new names on 20 September.
This comes after the township's Zone 13 approached the City to honour certain people who had played a major role in developing the township in the fields of sport, education, politics, culture, social life and business.
Affectionately known as Alex, the suburb has a rich social and political history, the most prominent event being the bus boycott of 1957. It was triggered by a fare increase of a penny on the buses transporting Alex residents to work; this resulted in people walking to and from Alexandra to work along Louis Botha Avenue, a trip that often was 15 to 30 kilometres.
As they walked to work, boycotters chanted the slogan "Azikhwelwa" (we will not take a ride). The boycott lasted for 180 days until the government passed a law that compelled employers to pick up part of the increased transport bill.
Rooseveld Street in Alexandra is to be renamed
Florence Moposho Street
Florence Moposho, who died in exile in 1985, was the first woman elected to the ANC national committee from Alexandra. She participated in many political activities in the township, including the bus boycotts of the 1950s.
When the ANC was banned she went into exile and rose up the party's ranks until she was elected to the national executive at the Morogoro Conference in 1969, a position she held till her death.
Originally from the Free State, Moposho's family settled in Alexandra in 1912 and still resides in the township. Vasco da Gama Street will be renamed after the prominent activist.
Richard Baloyi Street
Recognised as one of the martyrs of the Alex bus boycott, Richard Baloyi will have Hofmeyr Street renamed after him.
A prominent businessman in the township, Baloyi lived in Second Avenue. He played a leading role in the area's civic matters, contributing to its general governance and fighting against the injustices meted out to Africans.
He died in 1962 after playing a huge part in reshaping Alex.
Reverend Sam Buti Street
In recognition for his role in the "Save Alexandra" campaign, which ended victoriously in 1979, Selborne Street will be renamed after Reverend Sam Buti.
Buti played a prominent role in a campaign to look for alternative shelter when Alex was condemned to extinction by a parliamentary resolution in 1958.
The programme to evict all Alex residents started in the 1960s, when people were forcibly removed to Tembisa, Diepkloof, Meadowlands and later to Klipspruit. Other forced removals happened in the mid-1970s to hostels in Johannesburg.
In these removals women and children were sent to "homelands" or Bantustans, far away from their husbands and fathers, and work opportunities.
With the support of the student movement, the Alexandra Student League, Buti mobilised support to help feed and provide necessities such as blankets, clothes and mattresses for affected families. He also helped residents to acquire identity documents, known as dompas, which allowed blacks to stay in the cities.
This culminated in the "Save Alexandra" campaign with mass meetings, petitions and protests that drew international attention and forced the apartheid regime to negotiate.
Buti is still alive. He will join Beyers Naude, who also had a road - the old DF Malan Drive in Randburg - named after him while he was still living.
The City's naming and renaming policy states that names of living people should be avoided and only in exceptional cases will these be considered.
Alfred Nzo Street
Alfred Nzo was the longest serving secretary-general of the ANC, a resident of Alex in the 1950s and 60s and a community activist. Roosevelt Street is to be renamed after him.
Born in 1925 in Benoni, Nzo was active in the health committee, which ran the civic administration of Alex before the Peri-Urban Administrative Board took over. Nzo also participated in civic matters and the Alex bus boycott.
He went into exile in 1964 and was elected secretary-general of the party at the Morogoro Conference in Tanzania. Along with Oliver Tambo, he is seen as one of the architects of the ANC in exile.
After the first democratic elections in 1994, Nzo became the first minister of foreign affairs. He died in 2000.
Josias Madzunya Street
One of the most prominent political activists to emerge from Alex in the 1950s was Josias Madzunya. Well-known for his trademark long coat he wore whether it was hot or cold, Madzunya was active in the ANC and formed part of the Alexandra and Transvaal leadership.
However, he broke away from the ANC and became a founding member of the Pan African Congress in 1959, together with Robert Sobukwe and others.
Madzunya participated in the 1950s defiance campaigns against apartheid evils such as Bantu education and laws that excluded blacks from entering certain places. He was arrested many times and banished to Venda in what is now Limpopo province. He remained militant and a leader in the PAC until his death in the early 1970s.
Rooth Street is to be renamed after Madzunya.
Vincent Tshabalala Road
One of Alex's busiest thoroughfares, London Road, will be renamed after Vincent Tshabalala, a student and youth activist and intellectual.
Born in 1964, Tshabalala was one of the martyrs of the struggle. He left the country in 1983 and joined the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe, later returning on military and underground missions in the country. He was sold out and was killed in a street battle with the police at the corner of London Road and 12th Avenue in 1985.
More new names
Besides renaming streets in Alexandra, the City is considering renaming portions of Loveday Street in Braamfontein and is calling for proposals from the public. The portions earmarked for change are:
- the portion of Loveday between Juta and De Korte streets;
- the portion of Loveday between De Korte and Hoofd streets;
- the portion of Loveday between Smit and Leyds streets; and
- the portion of Loveday between Jorissen and De Korte streets.
Submissions or proposals relating to these portions of Loveday Street should note that they are separate. Anyone wanting to make submissions or suggestions on these renamings, should submit in writing their comments to The Executive Director: Dr Phillip Harrison, Metro Centre Block A, 158 Loveday Street, Braamfontein 2001, or to PO Box 30733, Braamfontein 2017.
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