Standardising Naming/Renaming of Public Places in Lusaka: A Draft Place Name Policy for Zambia (original) (raw)

2020, American Name Society (ANS) 2020 Conference

Despite Zambia, like many other nations, being described in gendered terms as “Motherland”, in reality the names of public places such as streets, neighbourhoods, townships, properties and others reflect a “Fatherland”. In addition, the names still project a colonial heritage, overshadowing local heritage. Nearly 45 % per cent of neighbourhoods in Lusaka bear English names, and slightly more than a quarter of these place names come from names of Europeans who settled on the respective lands in the colonial period. Moreover, as in other sub-Saharan African cities, ambiguity or non-existence of formal naming systems directly impacts on the ability of residents to benefit from basic services such as postal and related courier services, access to certain banking services, and access to technology such as GPS, mobile telecommunications; others are ambulance response and other location-based services and business opportunities that require exact identification of address, property or location. A study in selected African cities revealed that some residents attached having a unique address to higher social status. UNGEGN identified the absence of street naming in some sub-Saharan African cities as a contributing factor to the lack of personal identity. The exercise of naming and renaming streets, townships and other public places is an essential function in management of land use. It is linked to developments such as township establishment and subdivision. Naming/renaming and/or numbering public places helps to identify properties in the provision of various municipal services, ranging from development to emergency services. The Lusaka City Council does not have policy on naming/renaming public places/properties, especially in highly populated settlements. There is therefore need for a standard system for naming public places in Lusaka District.