The name “Tshwane” (Zulu for “we are the same”) was now viewed as discriminatory as it had been bestowed by a settler population, the council said, adding that it “recognised the error of (its) previous decision”, and hoped that the new name would be more politically correct.

Up until around 1750, the area later known as Pretoria had been inhabited by the Kh!nu//, a Khoisan people whose last remaining descendants are believed to be in the vicinity of Mmabatho. With the arrival of Afrikaners and Bantu-speaking people from further north, the Kh!nu//’s land was stolen and the people hunted virtually to extinction.

'Huge' marketing campaign

The council said it would embark on a marketing campaign to inform people of the changes. Billboards would be placed in and around Pretoria / Tshwane, officials would visit schools, and flyers would be handed out at Johannesburg International Airport.

Council spokesperson Dikeledi Mokwena said the cost of the name change would be “reasonable”. The cost of changing the city’s name from Pretoria to Tshwane would have been around R1.5-billion, and this is likely to add another R1-billion to the price tag.

Extra petrol tax to fund name change

This would be funded by an extra 30 cent levy on all petrol sold within the city limits, she said.

“The Pretoria / Witwatersrand area is one of the earliest known human settlements, and the council’s decision honours all our heritage,” Mokwena said.

But the council faces stiff opposition. Ronnie de Lange, a spokesperson for residents’ group Pretoria Aksie, called the decision “stupid”. “I don’t even know how to pronounce it, and I live here. How do they expect international visitors and embassies to cope?” he said.