The well-known Eskom HQ, Megawatt Park in Sunninghill Johannesburg, was briefly renamed to “Eskom MegaGravy Train Park” on Google Maps this week.

The new name seems to have been done by a South African citizen venting their frustration at Eskom amid rolling power cuts and alleged corruption at the power utility.

Google allows users to suggest changes to company names on Maps. The technology company will then review, assess and verify the proposed changes. It is therefore assumed that someone was able to bypass the name without Google Maps knowledge.

The location is the center of the headquarters’ property and an innocent search on Google Maps revealed the “Gravy Train” change.

On Sunday, the “MegaGravy Train Park” had a 2.0-star rating on Google. It has now tanked to 1.5 stars, with one South African commenting: “If I could give 0 stars, I would!”

Why Gravy Train?

“Gravy Train” is a term used to refer to a situation where people can make accessive amounts of money for minimal effort.

This comes as corruption allegations at the power utility emerged following former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter’s explosive interview on Etv with Annika Larson.

Google could have also seen the proposed name change as valid as there is another area on the Eskom HQ premises named The Gravy Shop.

Another name change emerged

It later emerged that another South African managed to change the name of the ANC’s head office in downtown Johannesburg, Chief Albert Luthuli House, to “Albert Lootfreely House”.

Chief Albert Luthuli House has been the home of the ANC since 1997 when the party moved from Shell House.

Both a search on Google Maps and Wikipedia brought up the new name on Monday afternoon.

Okay, who did this? 😂 pic.twitter.com/rKVcwVQrB4

— Duncan McLeod (@mcleodd) May 22, 2023

The new Wikipedia description writes – “Chief Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg, more simply known as LootFreely – the unofficial state prison of South Africa due to the amount of criminals that operate from this building, is the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) and other subsidiary organizations. The name “Luthuli House” is frequently used as a metonym for the national corrupt leadership of the ANC”

Both place names have been changed back to their original, after many laughs at the expense of both institutions.

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