Dear Editor,

If I had the honour of being a Member of Parliament, I would have moved a private member’s motion for the establishment of a Landmarks and Public Spaces Commission that would have the sole authority to name public spaces, public buildings, streets, and other national landmarks and monuments.

I propose this against the background of politicians naming areas in our public spaces for partisan purposes. This commission must be established through an Act of Parliament and protected from being usurped by any political regime change.

Far too often we have seen our public spaces being named based on the whims and fancies of individuals and organisations with the power to do so, and in most cases the public is not consulted. The street sign of one such named street was recently vandalised.

Establishing a commission that will be responsible for the naming of public spaces will engender trust and minimise partisanship. In our recent past we have seen a plethora of names connected to a certain political party being attached to public buildings and roads.

The Land Mark and Public Spaces Commission will eliminate such concerns. The local municipalities, Members of Parliament, and Cabinet ministers are all guilty of using their authority to force the names of undeserving former politicians on the public. I am hoping that one of the 63 Members of Parliament as well as any member of the municipal corporations will read this letter and take on the idea to move a motion to establish the commission.

Fernandez Smith

fgeesmith@yahoo.com