Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 October 2000 — Page 2

PAGE A2

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27,2000

South Africa: Name changes in store for m^jor cities

i

By FARAH KHAN JOHANNESBURG (IPS) — Many of South Africa’s major towns and cities will be renamed to reflect the country’s Black heritage after local elections slated for November.

Most of the well-known cities like Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg have elected to keep their names for business reasons. Cape Town residents, for example, said that the name was too well known on the global tourist map to change it now.

But the political capital, Pretoria, is in for a change. It becomes Tshwane after the election. A major Eastern Cape city will be renamed Nelson Mandela, while East London has gone for the odd name of Buffalo City. In the main, most cities and

Emm

Formerly Perfect Pagere 291-9200

Authorized Dealer

INDY'S Best Personal & Professional Communication Service

Brand Name Phone Always FREE

FREE Digital Phone (Limited Time Offer) • Free Caller ID • Free Voice Mail • Free Call Waiting • No Long Distance Charges

towns have opted to take on African names, a move away from the English and Afrikaner colonial heritage. Thus, Bloemfontein becomes Manguang and Bethlehem will change to Dihlabeng. Paulpietersburg becomes Phongolo, and the renowned spa town of Warmbaths will be known as Bela Bela. Nelspruit, the town bordering Mozambique, becomes Mbombela. The name changes are likely to take some time to be phased in, given the enormity of the task. Official documentation, maps and stationery must all be changed. The private sector is under no obligation to change the names of businesses; transformation is a voluntary exercise. But South Africans may have an additional wait for the changes if talks between government and traditional leaders this week are unsuccessful. Like many African democracies, South Africa is caught between modernity and tradition. Traditional leaders complain that the new municipalities do not respect their areas of authority. But the African National Congress (ANC) is confident that democ-

racy and traditional authority can peacefully co-exist. ‘Traditional leadership has a place in our country. It can mobilize rural people to participate in rural local governance,” says government minister Sydney Mufamadi. But, he adds, “we cannot redress conditions of poverty in the traditional authority areas by insulating those areas from the democratizing and development impact of the new political dispensation.” Government officials and representatives of the chiefs begin intense discussions on whether the establishment of new municipalities will erode the power of the aniakhosi, as the chiefs are known. If the committee finds that it does, then they will seek solutions to the diminished power. Lawyers are reviewing the roles and functions of the municipalities, as well as of traditional leadership. In parts of rural South Africa, traditional authorities enjoy greater legitimacy than elected leaders, says analyst John Seiler. For this reason, the government must go out of its way to include them in decision-making.

‘Traditional leaders matter just as much as local councilors,”;says Seiler, who questions whether the urban ruling elite appreciates the nuances of politics in the countryside. On the other hand, civil society is not happy with the concessions the government is making to the chiefs. The government has already doubled the number of ex officio seats on councils set aside for traditional leaders. Zakes Hlatswayo, the director of the National Land Committee, said such concessions should not “dent the process of rural democratization.” The traditional leaders have begun to flex their muscles. In September, they disrupted a voter registration drive in four provinces to protest the new municipalities. In the Eastern Cape, the Independent Electoral Commission was forced to remove its staff after they were threatened. . For now, the chiefs have abandoned street politics in favor of discussions with government. They have until next week to conclude an agreement, or elections may be postponed to next year.

Option # I • Introductory Offer • 500 Anytime Minutes Plus •500 Free Nationwide • Weekend Minutes Only $39.99 per month Other fnat plans start at $19.99

Option #2 •No Fee •PrePay • No Contract • No Credit Check • No Monthly Bill

Blacks: Leaderless

1^1

I* i n r . o rrrmwir I. .7.V.. . .' T.V.SiV.Wj., k if

We accept most major credit cards.

Coming Soon — Dish Network Services coming to all our locations

By Joe Williams III The Black community has never been in a more vulnerable situation since the early sixties. | We are left without meaningful organization, without militant leadership, and without a serious political or economic agenda. Our lack of structure has developed at a critical and crucial moment in history. It is a period in time when a conservative whirlwind has consumed everything progressive and decent. It is a period in which most people just want “to get over.” Where money and wealth has become the “social value.” |; ; Eveline wants “mflrtj^even at the cost of others. Our so-called leaders have become robots, or puppets, of Corporate America and it’s footstool, the U.S. Government. The institutions of worship have become begging societies. The preachers have become another entity to tolerate. The holy books have become another way to justify greed and selfish-

ness. The tax collectors have walked a thin line concerning criminal activity. It is in the backdrop of all this re-action that our so-called Black leaders fight to justify their very existence. It is these “Negro” leaders who move the masses of Black people from town to town, from city to city, from state to state under the umbrella of rallies and protests. They have no real agenda, no real vision, and no real interest in the liberation of the Black masses. Our children are faced with state fed education, lies about historical events, and teachers to docile to speak their jninds. In this election year, the major candidates have the characteristics of puppets, not one original thought in their brain. It is an empty time that has given us empty politicians. Yet, these politicians, these Black leaders, and these preachers all like to quote progressive and radical figures like Dr. Martin

Luther King and Malcolm X. Yet, it is evident that these men have not led the masses of our people anywhere. They scream the same old tired song; they play the same old scratched record. Our dilemma is this; we adjust to our oppression too easily. We no longer fight for the poor arid the homeless, the imprisoned or those on the outskirts of society. We have forgotten, so in the ' future we must pay. It is time all good men who have faith in humanity reach ; deep down in themselves and seek a struggle and a movement that will save anil salvage the future. We haive Heen given a plastic reality, with plastic leaders who are satisfied marching us up and down hills and valleys and twisting us into circles. We must seek a new path, a new reality, and new world with a value system that each and every one of us can share the rewards of a collective and caring society, a society where justice and equality reins.

im CMIIS SUM IEFIECT YIIR C9MMUNITY Make it happen — Vote!!!

MARCH Continued from A1

cancer in his body, but still needs to undergo a seven-hour operation to repair minor damage in his colon. The date of the surgery has not been set, but the minister will have to be hospitalized for six weeks afterward. Optimistic about a predicted 100 percent recovery, Farrakhan said last week’s MFM offered him the chance to give the world a “seminal view of what the kingdom of God would look like when human beings outgrow the things that divide them. “Even if that seminal view was only for a few hours, hopefully the experience will continue. What you can do for a few hours, you can do for a few days. And what you can do for a few days, you can do for months and for years and for a lifetime. The time has come and the demand in the human spirit for the madness of uncultivated, underdeveloped human beings must end,” he added.

Your Marion County Democratic Judicial Team — Pulling the party lever casts no vote for judge. — You must pull down the lever of each individual Judge to cast your vote!

IkrGROCO

Please Vote for Grant Hawkins

• Endorsed by Concerned Clergy • Highest Recommendation by Indpls. Bar Association

PsMtosnd«ulhortz>dby»wltMi**wtOfJud||»Cowml«M. 9lwi»Hc. Hawkins. TrMtursr

Nearly 51 percent of registered voters didn’t vote in the last presidential election. While Farrakhan praised the efforts to register unregistered voters, he added tha,t the masses of registered voters ;who don’t go to the polls need to be brought back into the fold. , “I believe we can make a difference, if we go about it differently than what we have done in the past. Your vote as an individual is like a baby with candy in your hand and the bully can come and take everybody’s candy because the baby’s won’t unite,” he said. “But if the children united and said no you can’t take my candy, the bully would become humane. “I can’t tell you who to vote for, but I hope we would say no candy unless we see real change. And if they don’t do our will, pull them | down and send someone in who will do the will of the people ” he added.