A motion was first proposed in 2018 to rename Sandton Drive after Dr Leila Khaled, a Palestinian freedom fighter.
The proposed renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive will be placed on the backburner while parties discuss the matter further.
Renaming one of Sandton’s busiest streets has been on the cards since 2018, with a final public participation process concluded in October 2024.
A motion proposed by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) to scrap the renaming altogether was due to be heard on Thursday, with parties remaining on the fence after it was withdrawn.
Service delivery first
ActionSA announced on Thursday afternoon that the City of Johannesburg’s political management committee (PMC) had agreed to postpone the renaming for parties to reach a consensus.
Democratic Alliance members who oversee the wards that Sandton Drive runs through applauded the decision, stating “the pressure was working.”
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ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chair Funzi Ngobeni and councillors Marin Williams and Lynda Shackleford all agreed the city had more pressing matters to attend to.
“The realities of local government in Johannesburg are stark, and too many residents and communities have experienced a declining level of service delivery and infrastructure stability,” stated Ngobeni.
“This and not the renaming of non-offensive street names must be the priority and focus of the municipality,” he added.
“We will always be on the side of residents whilst actively demanding governance that works. The city needs to start fixing potholes and stop playing cheap politics,” said the DA councillors in a joint statement on Thursday.
Al Jamah-ah unmoved
The PMC was founded several years ago by coalition members of the government of local unity, including Al Jamah-ah, who first proposed the motion to rename Sandton Drive.
Former Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad told The Citizen that the decision was not taken on Thursday, as FF+ withdrew its motion due to not having enough support.
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Amad said parties who initially supported the motion to rename Sandton Drive had changed their stance, but that Al Jamah-ah was committed to the project.
“We understand there are other parties that need to be persuaded. The coalition needs to be swayed,” Amad told The Citizen.
“We have not expressed intention to renege. We, as South Africans, need to own our narrative. We understand our history.
“Solidarity with the Palestinian people is not an act of charity, but an act of unity,” he concluded.
Rescind effort not over
The DA claimed in October that the public participation process was illegitimate, calling for an audit of the comments collected.
Both the DA and ActionSA stated their belief that renaming the main road was divisive and unpopular.
“ActionSA will work to find consensus on this matter in a way that the original resolution to rename Sandton Drive did not,” stated Ngobeni.
The DA said this was “not the end”, while ActionSA suggested they would block Leila Khaled’s name from donning intersections.
“Any efforts to proceed on implementing the original council resolution will result in ActionSA working with like-minded parties to bring its own motion to rescind the council resolution to rename Sandton Drive,” Ngobeni concluded.
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