It’s now into the third year since SA Army chief Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo announced an initiative to change at least some names of Reserve Force units to make them more South African.
While no official progress announcement has been made on name changes, defenceWeb has been reliably informed the report of the name review steering committee appointed by Masondo is nearing completion. The delay in finalising the report is largely attributed to the need to consult as widely as possible with serving and past unit members as well as regimental council and local town and city councils.
“All indications are the Army is doing its best to come up with a balanced list which is reflective of Southern Africa’s entire heritage,” the source said.
As far back as September 2013 a number of suggestions were given to the name review steering committee after which the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) corporate communications directorate said a second round of suggestions would be invited following a national roadshow. The roadshow would “orient” stakeholders, including current and retired unit members as well as regimental and Reserve Force provincial councils about issues around the name changes.
Brigadier General Gerhard Kamffer heads up the name review steering committee in his position as Director: Army Reserves.
In January last year he said: “”The ethnic composition of the SA Army Reserves in terms of Africans, Coloureds and Asians currently is 87%. To cater for this cultural composition, new units will have to be raised and identity changes introduced. The changes have to reflect cultural identities, symbols and accoutrements to which members may feel greater affinity.
“However, indications are some African members are embracing the history and traditions of their current units even though many symbols reflect only part of South Africa’s military history.”
Among the criteria to be taken into account when suggesting name changes is that no unit may be named after a living person. When the name of a dead person is nominated he or she must have played a significant role in the country’s military history. Names such as that of Doman, a Khoi-Khoi leader; Gonnema, leader of the Cochogue in the second Khoi-Khoi conflict in 1673; Xhosa chief Ngqika; Field Marshall Jan Smuts; Major General Dan Pienaar; Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Chris Hani have been put forward as possibilities.
Where place names have changed since democracy, such as Transvaal and Natal, these should not be part of unit or regiment names. “The temptation to simply update a name to the new name should be avoided wherever possible and consideration given to a new and imaginative name,” Kamffer said then.
