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Launch of renaming Louis Le Grange Square to Mount Road Police Station
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Safety Liaison and Transport

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 EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 SPEECH BY MEC FOR SAFETY AND LIAISON
AT THE LAUNCH OF RENAMING LOUIS LE GRANGE SQUARE TO MOUNT ROAD POLICE STATION
ON  8 SEPTEMBER 2000



Honourable guests:

Mayor Faku
 Members from the Standing Committee on Safety and Liaison
 Rep from National Commissioner’s office
 Provincial Commissioner
 Deputy Provincial Commissioner
 Provincial Board members
 Provincial Heads
 Area Commissioners
 Members of the Secretariat
 ANC & Alliance partners
Other political parties
 CPF and the Media

It is the call
 of a timeless glory
 and the beat of the native song
 that beckoned you to struggle on

The white night is dead
Freedom walks in the sunrise
 and in the glow
 of an eternal love song

from the poem Zimbabwean Love song by Don Mathera

Today I am honoured and privileged to officiate at a ceremony of this nature, where the fruits of our hard fought democracy is slowly, but 
surely, outshining the symbols of apartheid. Louis Le Grange represented a police state where police were used as tools of oppression 
against the majority of our people.

The challenge to all communities and police members of this democratic society, is to transform police structures so that they are in line 
with the democratic changes and turn the past imbalances around to serve all the people of our province and country with dignity, respect, 
courtesy and equality.

Some quarters of South African society question the reason for the changing of names and symbols in this country. They argue that this 
practise is both expensive and time consuming. These arguments have been noted, and I will attempt to provide the answers.

Parliament has given the lead by implementing its policy of changing names of national symbols like the Flag, the Anthem and the Coat of 
Arms to accentuate the values and ethos of a democratic country on the African Continent.

We are not just changing mere names of streets or buildings, but of symbols that depict our colonial past and a minority rule that 
characterised the exclusion of the majority of the population. We are engaged in a transformation process.

To those individuals who were detained, tortured and persecuted, those who had members of their families detained for months, and those 
whose leaders were made to languish in the cells of this police station, the name “Louis Le Grange” would be a reminder of that terrible 
time in our history.So let us look to this process of changing names with positivity, as one of the contributions to the process of 
reconciliation and reconstruction of our country. The challenge for us is to build a spirit of “Ubuntu”,where we will live for our country, 
take personal and collective responsibility and accountability for improving our situation.

The ceremony we are having today follows the example of the renaming of the main street after one of our stalwarts, Oom Gov.The solemn 
purpose of changing names, is not only about remembering our heroes and heroines but also taking forward the process of reconciliation.

This should be seen as supplementing our efforts to strengthen our democracy, and ensure that peace prevails in our country and the 
continent at large. It also adds value to our efforts of building relations between police services and the community.

Renaming “Louis Le Grange” in my view will do away with the stigma attached to the building,and thus enable communities to look upon this 
police station and its police members anew and inculcate a sense of confidence and trust.

We cannot remove this building, but what we can do is transform our attitudes and this will enhance the spirit of community policing 
together with a culture of loyalty and patriotism in our country.

Recently a national conference on racism was held. And that conference concluded that racism is rife in South Africa and this includes the 
SAPS.The problem of racism manifests itself in a number of ways and it is important therefore that we are always vigilant in identifying 
and combating it. For us to succeed we need commitment especially from the top echelons of the Service.

Those of us in larger workplaces like the SAPS – have the opportunity to interact and to talk but often we do not grab the chance to 
communicate. And so the unresolved pain, confusion and conflict continue to hold back nation building efforts. We are our own resource FOR 
TACKLING RACISM.

It is embarrassing to our Service to read stories in papers about our senior officers involved in criminal activities instead of fighting 
it to secure our nation.
Our Commissioner is challenged to be strong in dealing with those elements even to the extent of dismissing them from our ranks.

Allow me to use this opportunity to respond to reports relating to scarcity of vehicles. It is true that we do have an insufficient supply 
of vehicles.This arises from a backlog we inherited from the past.We have a budget, that, like in any household is not limitless. We are 
doing our best to address this.This problem is affecting the whole province with the former homeland area’s being the worst off. Can I 
correct the impression created that this situation has led to some police being sent home, and thereby living behind a crisis situation. 
There is nothing new in the shortage of resources either human or material.There is therefore no crisis at all.The issue of resources is 
receiving attention from National Government through the National Minister and the National Commissioner.

In conclusion, the struggle and sacrifices of the people over the centuries have presented our generation with the unique opportunity to 
take South Africa into the new millennium. It is a challenge for every South African to participate in the organisation and mobilisation of 
our people to unite around a programme of social transformation, premised on democratic majority rule.

The process of renaming should and must be a building block to depening our democracy and creating new values for our children to live in a 
peaceful, non-racial, non sexist and free society.The future of our country revolve around these processes and principles.

Let us all then live up to them.

I THANK YOU
 MEC Dennis Neer
 Safety and Liaison

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