Viva Responsible Government Spending
It is already annoying having to deal with the ever-changing street and building names (who can forget the day they changed the off-ramp from the N2 to Stellenbosch to simply “Baden Powell Road” resulting in travellers ending up in Somerset West, dazed and confused?!), but having to follow these irritating developments stage by stage as a result of incessant publications on the home page of the primary online South African news website annoys me even more.
Mayor to press ahead with airport renaming
10 January 2006
Ekurhuleni mayor Duma ka Nkosi says the process of renaming Johannesburg International Airport to OR Tambo International is at an advanced stage, the SABC reported on Tuesday.Ka Nkosi said a formal request had already been submitted to the departments of transport and arts and culture to effect the name change.
The metro said naming the airport after the late ANC stalwart had political and historic significance.
Ka Nkosi said the use of resources in pursuit of the name change did not necessarily affect service delivery.
He said public opinion was gauged on the matter last month.
The airport is currently known as Johannesburg International Airport, although it is located in Kempton Park – which has confused some visitors. It was previously known as Jan Smuts International Airport, after the World War 2 prime minister, but was renamed in the mid-1990s when it was said airports should be named after their localities and not after politicians. – Sapa
I find this annoying because now, according to the “powers that be”, even Johannesburg International Airport is not politically correct enough. So is it alright keeping that name for the city, but not for the airport? The logic escapes me… and what happened to the move away from the political naming of airports to location-based ones? Don’t get me wrong, I was all for changing it from Jan Smuts to Johannesburg International Airport…but this will be the third naming of the airport in the last 12 years! Each time this happens, it is not about simply erecting a new sign on the airport building, it is about updating local and international booking systems, reprinting brochures and amending exisiting advertising endeavours…all costing a lot of money…all for, in my opinion, a comparitively superficial gain!!
Another reason for the change is the apparent visitor confusion surrounding Jozi International actually being in Kempton Park. I mean, when people ask to fly to Sydney, do they expect the aircraft to land on the main shopping street in the CBD? What is so confusing about landing in Kempton Park? I mean, are these people expecting to take a brisk walk around the corner into the CBD?! So lets assume that international visitors are walking into the terminal on a daily basis, in a state of confusion, mumbling something along the lines of their tickets reading “JHB International” and not “Kempton Park”…all I can say is that it is a good thing that they are renaming Jozi International to OR Tambo International because now it really tells visitors their location…not! Now visitors will not only fail to understand why they are in Kempton Park and not the JHB CBD, but they will also need to buy an updated map to know that they are even in Johannesburg!
At least the mayor emphasised that “the use of resources in pursuit of the name change did not necessarily affect service delivery”. Well I am really happy to hear that…because my last visit to Joha…I mean OR Tambo International was rather noteworthy. Prior to departure, there was a shoot-out near the boarding gates and the check-in queue had ammounted to an unrully pushing and shoving affair. Passport control and security were horrifically understaffed and we got to stand in a queue for an hour just to board the plane. So I am happy to hear that service level’s will “not necessarily change” – just think about how boring the process would be without the occasional excitement of a shoot-out or having to sit on the cold tiled floor before you board the aircraft.
So I figure that with the ongoing scourge of unemployment, absolutely appalling medical conditions and the fact that so many people don’t have a roof over their heads and are starving, it is only to be expected that the South African government rename the Jozi International Airport. Why squander tax-payer money on saving lives when it can be spent on renaming yet another building in the country?!
Not a bad take on the issue! Quite amusing. You should put your views thru the spell check
I live in south africa and after seeing all these starving children and homeless families everyday of my life. It sickens me that the government would see it necessary to rename an airport with that money!!!!!!!!!
Having all that money to change names, the government should then have a whole lot more for things that are actually necessary and important. It’s selfish to ignore the homeless, unemployed and starving people in South Africa. The logic escapes me to.
maybe the reason for all the funding of name changing is to stop anyone actually visiting south africa anymore,by confusing them so much that they have no idea how to actually get here!!!!!!!!