Thank you BCC for suburbs and street names correction

I would like to sincerely thank the Bulawayo Mayor, the Bulawayo City Councilors, the Bulawayo Acting Town Clerk and all the Council Staff for the Council decision to accent to my request to have all the misspelt Ndebele names of the City's suburbs and streets corrected.

This decision made by the full Council of Wednesday 02 March 2016 is very important for the dignity, identity and heritage of the City, the Ndebele people and all the peoples of Matabeleland as it corrects historical cultural and linguistic injustices and colonial legacies.

I will therefore would like to plead with the residents of Bulawayo to embrace and celebrate this decision as it is their victory and this they can show by beginning to correctly write the names correctly. I urge students, residents, shop owners, transport owners, landlords, etc to begin writing the suburbs and street names correctly in their letters, books, vehicles, correspondences, addresses and signages as it is now legal to do so. With this Council resolution it is now alright to write Mpopoma as Mpophoma; Makokoba and Makhokhoba; Lobengula as Lobhengula; Pelandaba as Phelandaba; Nketa as Nketha; Pumula as Phumula; Kumalo as Khumalo; Masiyepambili as Masiyephambili and Matsheumhlophe as Matsh'amhlophe.

I will also would like to take this time to urge and encourage all the various communities and peoples of Matabeleland to actively and non-violently stand up and seek justice for their linguistic and cultural identities, misspellings and distortions as this is their democratic and constitutional right. I also encourage the various local authorities to emulate the City of Bulawayo by agreeing to correct the linguistic and cultural wrongs done in the past.

Once again thank you to the Council for the wisdom and thank you to all the residents and activists of Bulawayo for the support you rendered me in this 5 months long and tedious lobbying campaign.

Sincerely
Khumbulani Maphosa
Bulawayo Resident