{"id":48588,"date":"2026-01-28T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=48588"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:03:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:03:00","slug":"gnu-party-pushes-to-get-major-south-african-province-renamed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/01\/28\/gnu-party-pushes-to-get-major-south-african-province-renamed\/","title":{"rendered":"GNU party pushes to get major South African province renamed \u2013 Newsday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has thrown its weight behind King Misuzulu kaZwelithini\u2019s call to rename KwaZulu-Natal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The party announced that it \u201cfully supports\u201d and \u201capplauds\u201d the idea of removing the \u2018Natal\u2019 from KwaZulu-Natal, renaming the province KwaZulu.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The King made this proposal during a speech at the 147th commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in Nquthu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to remove this Natal. This is KwaZulu, so I don\u2019t understand why we have this Natal,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the \u2018Natal\u2019 part of the name was imposed by colonisers. <\/p>\n<p>The IFP, a member of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the KZN provincial government, has supported his statements.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis call is both timely and historically justified,\u201d the party said. \u201cThe proposal comes as no surprise and is neither unreasonable nor uncalled for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the party, whose member Thami Ntuili serves as premier, said during the reign of King Shaka, who ruled over many tribes, the boundaries of KwaZulu extended as far as the uMtamvuna River in the Eastern Cape, Balfour in Gauteng, and Ermelo in Mpumalanga.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis demarcation resulted in the loss of many parts of KwaZulu, which were placed under other provinces,\u201d the party said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>KwaZulu means \u201cplace of the Zulu\u201d in isiZulu and refers to the ancestral heartland of the Zulu people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The name Natal comes from the Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama. <\/p>\n<p>While sailing along South Africa\u2019s southeastern coast on Christmas Day in 1497, de Gama named the area Terra do Natal, or \u201cland of the Nativity\u201d after the holiday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), IFP says that negotiations in the early 1990s regarding the renaming of provinces were intense, particularly regarding KwaZulu-Natal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The party said that during this time and consistently since then, it has advocated for the recognition of KwaZulu in acknowledgement of the Zulu Kingdom and its historical and political significance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The name Natal, which had been in use for centuries at that point, was changed to \u201cKwaZulu-Natal\u201d in 1994.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A compromise that fails to reflect reality \u2013 IFP<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GNU-party-pushes-to-get-major-South-African-province-renamed.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GNU-party-pushes-to-get-major-South-African-province-renamed.png 1200w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Hlabisa-and-IFP-supporters-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Hlabisa-and-IFP-supporters-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Hlabisa-and-IFP-supporters-600x338.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Velenkosini Hlabisa and supporters. Photo: Inkatha Freedom Party.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe current name remains a compromise that failed to fully reflect reality,\u201d the IFP said. The party is advocating not only for this name change, but also for further renaming to reflect historical importance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The IFP said that the uMgungundlovu District Municipality, where Pietermaritzburg is located, should be changed as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a well-known fact that uMgungundlovu was King Dingane\u2019s royal palace near uLundi, which was destroyed, after which the voortrekkers names Pietermaritzburg a \u2018fake\u2019 uMgungundlovu with the deliberate intention of mocking and ridiculing Zulu People,\u201d the IFP said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cContinuing to refer to Pietermaritzburg as uMgungundlovu is deeply painful and misleading, as it distorts history and trivialises the destruction of the original royal palace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The party said that accepting this name gives the impression that the country accepts or celebrates the injustices imposed on the Zulu Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The King\u2019s call to change the name of KwaZulu-Natal should further inspire the provincial government and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culrue to urgently correct place names that have been incorrectly written or distorted over time, according to the IFP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExamples include uMbogintwini and Ixopo, among others, whose current spellings strip them of meaning and cultural context.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The party argues that this is not only administrative, but a matter of dignity, identity and justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlace names carry history, meaning and collective memory. When written correctly, they restore linguistic integrity, affirm cultural heritage and honour the lived experiences of local communities,\u201d the IFP said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Name changes in South Africa have been a contentious issue in democratic history. Since 2019, the South African Geographical Names Council has cost taxpayers R14 million to run.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most of the name changes since 1994 have consisted of spelling changes, but some name changes, especially in the last six years, have come under scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One such name change was the decision to rename Port Elizabeth, Gqeberha. Some were concerned this would negatively affect tourism, with over 30,000 people signing a petition to stop the change.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other significant name changes in the last six years included changing King William\u2019s Town to Qonce, Uitenhage to Kariega, Cradock to Nxuba, Somerset East to KwaNojoli, and Ladysmith to uMnambithi.<\/p>\n<p>                        <!-- Share Data Setup for JavaScript --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#GNU #party #pushes #major #South #African #province #renamed #Newsday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has thrown its weight behind King Misuzulu kaZwelithini\u2019s call to rename KwaZulu-Natal.\u00a0 The party announced&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48590,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48588\/revisions\/48590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}