Politics.za: Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt

Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt

Farrel — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:33:00 -0500

This has been blogged before but it needs all the publicity it can get. In an interview with the Sunday Times about changing the name of JHB International Airport to Oliver Tambo Airport, Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan goes completely off the rails repeatedly substituting Robey Leibrandt instead of Helen Suzman into the conversation.

So we have a name foisted on us by a bunch of councillors
Not a bunch of councillors. Elected representatives of the people of Ekurhuleni. You might not like them, you might not approve of them. But those are the elected councillors of that municipality and this is the way they have gone about it.
If the Cape Town municipality, which is controlled by the Democratic Alliance, decided to rename Cape Town airport Tony Leon International
Don’t be absurd. Tony Leon is a midget next to Oliver Tambo.
Okay, it’s absurd, I agree. But you get my point. Let’s say they decided to rename it the Helen Suzman International Airport?
Even Helen Suzman! I mean, do you want to compare Helen Suzman [to] Oliver Tambo? Don’t be ridiculous.
What I’m saying is that if they came up with a name and went through the necessary process — the name is immaterial
It’s very material. If they wanted to name it after Robey Leibbrandt, you can forget about it, I would never agree to it. The name, first of all, must be of someone deserving, right? Don’t come with absurdities like Tony Leon.
I’m saying Helen Suzman.
And I’m saying she’s not comparable to Oliver Tambo, right? You’re saying the name is immaterial, I’m saying I would never agree to name an airport after Robey Leibbrandt. That you can put your money on.

What. The. Hell? Where did Robey Leibrandt come from?

"Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt" by Garth

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:54:06 -0500

I think the interview is very sad, especially if it reflects the way Jordan ‘thinks’.

"Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt" by Clara

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 13:37:15 -0500

What with so many Capetonians being unrepentant DA-voting racists with cellphone ringtones to match, maybe “Robey Leibbrandt Airport” might be quite an appropriate choice … seriously, though, I thought the Pallo Jordan interview was hilarious!

"Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt" by Farrel

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:43:00 -0500

It isn’t so much him only approving certain names (which I would expect), it’s him suddenly bringing up Robey Leibrandt as if that was somehow comparable to Helen Suzman….

"Pallo Jordan: Helen Suzman to Robey Leibrandt" by db cooper

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:14:28 -0500

>If the Cape Town municipality, which is controlled by the >Democratic Alliance, decided to rename Cape Town airport >Tony Leon International >Don’t be absurd. Tony Leon is a midget next to Oliver Tambo.

So, the municipality can decide to name an airport after someone… as long as Pallo Jordan agrees that that person is a giant and not a midget?

Yup, that’s the “democracy” we’ve come to expect.

(Not that I want an airport named after anyone, because in Africa that tends to result in the damned thing being renamed every five years, but that is not the point)