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To date, 39 young South Africans have died while undergoing ‘initiation' in 2010. That fact alone is harrowing.

In South Africa there are many threats to the quality of life - from poverty through to HIV/Aids - each of which makes day-to-day life extremely difficult for millions of South Africans. That such a high number of young men should now die, for no reason other than the callous or illegal actions of those responsible for their rite of passage, is simply to add ‘initiation' as another threat to that list. No one should have to face the prospect of death or the threat of severe disfigurement, simply to pass muster in another person's eyes. It is neither constitutional nor justifiable, and there falls an onus on this government to take action to protect life, and properly regulate a practice that has become notorious.

In order to properly understand the problem two different aspects need to be understood: first, to what degree are those responsible for circumcision acting in compliance with minimum health standards; secondly, to what degree is the initiations practice itself a threat to the health and safety of an individual? If unregulated, both of these elements constitute a threat to the basic human rights of any person.

To properly address these two areas of concern, the DA believes it necessary that the Department of Traditional Affairs, together with the Department of Health, establish a Task-Team, the purpose of which is to properly interrogate each area and make recommendations.

It is the responsibility of the Department of Traditional Affairs to monitor the number of initiation schools operating in South Africa while the Department of Health should ensure that those schools meet basic health standards to ensure the safety of the young men who enter them and prevent future deaths like those experienced this winter season. Until now, none of these mechanisms have been in place. The DA can reveal that in the Eastern Cape, where the problem of illegal initiation schools is most pervasive; the provincial department of health apparently does not have a well-resourced inspectorate to deal with matters arising from illegal initiation schools. Most egregiously, there is no coordinated attempt to address this problem at all and none has been put in place either, despite the meeting that took place last week between the Eastern Cape MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Gcobana, the MEC of Health, Phumulo Masaulle, and the monarch of the Western Pondoland, King Ndamase.

Action is needed to prevent more deaths in future and this will only come about if government departments can learn to work together. The DA believes that only a coordinated effort from the Departments of Health and Traditional Affairs can ensure that initiation schools cater both for the needs of this important practice whilst at the same time ensuring that initiates do not risk their lives in the process. As such, the DA will be recommending to the Ministers of Health and Traditional Affairs respectively that their departments form a task -team to investigate:

• The actual number of initiation schools operating in the Eastern Cape
• A criteria for formal registration of initiation schools and practitioners
• A criteria of minimum health standards for initiation schools to comply with
• An inspectorate that would ensure compliance with established criteria

Once such a task-team has been put in place, desperately needed regulation can begin and those practitioners found to have violated the established regulations can be brought to account by the South African Police Services (SAPS). Indeed, the confusion over the crimes committed has been one of the major factors preventing the arrest of the individuals concerned.

The DA will be asking the Minister of Traditional Affairs to appear before Parliament to explain what action his department will be taking, if any, to prevent these deaths from occurring in future. Also, Traditional Leaders must appear before Parliament to explain how they will work with the Department of Traditional Affairs and the Department of Health to ensure that certain basic standards are met for initiation schools in the future. The leaders need to explain why adherence to a ‘cultural practice' currently seems to disqualify basic safety, often leading to fatalities.

The DA believes that, in the interests of the young South African men who will undergo initiation in future, the Departments of Traditional Affairs and Health need to ensure that there are basic safety mechanisms in place to prevent injury and any further loss of life.