Last updated on 23 April 2022
Deputy president David Mabuza hears of fears to lose land and accusations of neglect of traditional leaders by the state
Mokgadi Mogy Mashako
THE follow up engagement between government and magoši of Limpopo got off to a rocky start in Polokwane this week when traditional leaders interrupted premier Stan Mathabatha’s welcome address calling for the ‘draft agenda’ before them to be formally adopted.
Citing that should government commit to anything at the engagement session they should be held accountable because even though on paper it was a draft, a verbal formalisation would make things legitimate.
Noting the tensions amongst his audience deputy president David Mabuza – who also played the role of moderator- afforded all those with issues a chance to air their frustrations before adopting the agenda formally.
The meeting with Mabuza and traditional authorities comes after a similar gathering on 5 January in Limpopo before the ANC’s January 8 festivities. The tense meeting resulted in a war of words after Kgoši Letsiri Phaahla fired a broadside at president Cyril Ramaphosa labeling him a liar. After that Mathabatha fired back at Phaahla labeling his attack disrespectful.
Ramaphosa has appointed Mabuza to head up an Inter-Ministerial Task team meant to find solutions to problems faced by traditional leaders across the country.
Picking up from where they left off, magoši were not excited about rehashing their concerns, saying they had been voicing the same concerns since 1997 without any satisfactory resolve.
The traditional leaders listed the following among the issues they want government to tackle:
• Non-existent budgets and infrastructure for provincial and local houses to meet the needs of communities;
• The preference and favouritism of white owned private companies over rural communities when coming to land development in rural areas;
• The recognition of traditional leaders as model citizens and the call for mešate/palaces to be turned into heritage sites;
• Indirect discrimination against female traditional leaders;
• communities travelling long distances to access water;
• the unbearable state of roads especially during the rainy season;
• Having undocumented foreign nationals which compromises on the safety of communities and places pressure on available resources
• Mining royalties going to government and in turn communities benefitting very little from mining activities.
Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders in Limpopo Kgoši Malesela Dikgale lamented on the fact that remuneration of traditional leaders is way too low compared to that of other public office bearers.
He expressed that the issue of leaders in rural communities receiving stipends of around R 19 000 (nineteen thousand rands) instead of monthly salaries needed to be reconsidered.
Dikgale further said that leaders in rural communities run the risk of losing all available land.
“Traditional leaders do not have farms available to them anymore because some people have taken over that land. A land summit would assist us come up with solutions around this thorny issue”, Dikgale said.
“It cannot be that incoming traditional leaders face the same issues leaders were facing back in 1994. We should see to it that these matters are resolved”, Dikgale said.
Offering a loose overview of National government’s processing of the matters raised by traditional leaders, Home Affairs Director General Mashwale Diphofa said that most of the identified issues have been “put on the table” and are “being dealt with”.
Reflecting on the issue of unsatisfactory progress around pieces of legislation that discriminates traditional leaders, Diphofa pointed out that: “The Minster of COGTA has issued a formula for the Constitution of Traditional Councils on the 4th of February 2022, which means the process now can actually take place”.
Limpopo Chairperson of the Congress of Traditional leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA), Kgoši Letsiri Phaahla said traditional leaders had outgrown task teams and incoherent government rhetoric.
He demanded that government meet their needs and provide quantifiable and time frame commitments in order to resolve their burning issues.
“We don’t want government to buy us cars, we want government to upscale our remuneration packages to that we can restructure them in a way that we can provide ourselves our pensions, medical aid and car allowances,” he said.
This would shift the burden of traditional authorities having to always knock on governments’ door. Phaahla called on the administration to provide to provincial houses a budget so as to make converging and dealing with traditional matters a less daunting experience.
“Just imagine if municipalities that are all over the country spent two or three months without a budget. There would be a disaster. So why can’t budgets be given to provincial and local houses of traditional leaders?” asked Phaahla.
Mathabatha said that demands of wanting to do away with ward councillors were out of the question. Instead traditional leaders “should look at harmonious ways to work with them”.
Limpopo Coghsta MEC Basikopo Makamu said there was no budget for provincial Traditional Chambers. He also noted that government would require R106 million to purchase vehicles for all traditional leaders in the province.
“This year we have a budget of R 5 million where we are going to provide 21 offices with furniture”, Makamu added.
Mabuza said Ramaphosa was looking for solutions to all troubles faced by rural communities and their leaders.
He announced that the National Land Summit will be hosted from 28 to 30 April this year and urged Mathabatha to host a provincial summit leading up to the main event.
“Water will be a priority, I’m sure working with the province we must find a way of getting water to traditional communities,” Mabuza said in addition, promising to return to ministers from different portfolios to deal with the issues raised. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
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