Major+Joburg+street+renamed+after+Joe+Slovo,+S+Times

Harrow Rd gives way to Joe Slovo
=Major street in Joburg is renamed after veteran freedom fighter=

Dolny said there was no better road in the city to be renamed after Slovo

 * THABO MKHIZE**

HARROW Road, east of Joburg, will disappear from the city’s new maps.

On Friday the street, which forms the boundary between Berea and Yeoville, was officially renamed Joe Slovo Drive.

City bosses this week said the renaming was in remembrance of the veteran freedom fighter who died from cancer in 1995.

Guests at the renaming function included the South African Communist Party general-secretary, Blade Nzimande, and Slovo’s wife, Helena Dolny.

Joburg Mayor Amos Masondo said Slovo died as the country was “beginning to grapple with reconstruction and development”.

He said he was aware of the criticism regarding name changes.

“The council has abided by the relevant regulations and welcomed inputs from members of the public and affected communities,” he said.

“By attaching the names of Joe Slovo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela to important landmarks, we increase the sense of belonging among all communities of our city,” said Masondo.

Dolny said there was no better road in the city to be renamed after Slovo, since he had spent his early years in Yeoville.

Slovo was arrested and detained for two months during the treason trial of 1956. During his years in exile, he lived in the United Kingdom, Angola, Mozambique and Zambia, returning to South Africa in 1990.

At the time of his death he was the minister of Housing, the national chairman of the SACP, and a member of the national executive committee of the ANC.

Workers this week changed street signs along the road from the M2 East Harrow Road off-ramp to St Andrews Street in Houghton. Street signs on Siemert Road, which becomes Harrow Road from the M2 East, will also be changed.

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 * From: http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/articles/article.aspx?ID=ST6A166250