Date: 25/03/2008
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: SA: Makwetla: Sitting of Mpumalanga Provincial House of Traditional Leader

Hon. Premier of Mpumalanga TSP Makwetla's address to the Fourth Ordinary Sitting of the Third Democratic Mpumalanga Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Nelspruit

Honourable Chairperson of the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi SE Mahlangu,
Honourable Members of the House,
Members of the National House of Traditional Leaders (NTHL),
Esteemed Majesties, our Kings and Chiefs of our people from our province and visiting provinces,
Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature,
Members of the Executive Council and Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Spiritual Leaders,
Bayete!
Esteemed guests,
Comrades, colleagues and friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Chairperson, allow me first to begin my address by paying tribute to the memory and contribution of Inkosi ZT Mbuyane who, after prolonged illness, passed away in February this year. We honour his contribution towards work of the institution of traditional leadership in the province and the development of the people of Mbuyane Tribal Authority. May God continue to comfort his family and people, as they pick themselves up to face the future with courage as they have done before, since the beginning of time.

Once again, I am humbled to be afforded the opportunity to address this esteemed House on the occasion of the sitting of the Third Democratic Mpumalanga Provincial House of Traditional Leaders. The opening of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders is an important occasion that serves to remind us of the immense tasks and responsibilities we remain seized with in advancing development and service delivery to benefit the people of this province. It reminds us that we should remain unfazed by the enormity of challenges to vanquish poverty and underdevelopment that still beset many of our people in the province.

Chairperson, allow me to take this opportunity, on behalf of the provincial government, to congratulate you on your election to the Chair of the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders, a responsibility you have already performed with distinction.

This year provides us with yet another opportunity to reflect on our work for the previous year, identify areas of improvement, and pursue a disciplined programme of action for the coming year (2008/09) to advance the noble goal of creating a better life for the people of our province, especially in underdeveloped rural areas most of which are within the jurisdiction of traditional leadership.

As government, we believe we have built a strong platform for the effective partnership with the institution of traditional leadership in furthering development and service delivery in their areas of jurisdiction. We highly commend the leadership pedigree and the commitment displayed by the Provincial House of Traditional Leadership in entrenching the critical role of traditional leadership institutions in local governance and service delivery initiatives.

We should continue to enhance the meaningful participation of traditional leadership institutions in development planning and implementation, within our democratic system of local government. As I highlighted in the State of the Province Address this year, it is important that we nurture strong partnerships between government and traditional leadership institutions to ensure that we advance development and the quality of service delivery.

There is commitment from our local government leadership to provide all the necessary support for the effective functioning of Local Houses of Traditional Leaders as well as ensuring that traditional leaders are continuously engaged to seek their participation and input on matters of development. Councillors are encouraged to engage traditional leaders on development and service delivery initiatives and ensure that development brings on board contribution from traditional leadership institutions.

The participation and input of traditional leadership institutions in policy making processes is essential to ensure that policy implementation does not encounter difficulties. In this regard, we commend the valuable inputs that traditional leaders have made during consultations on the Traditional Courts Bill which is dealing with the civil and criminal jurisdiction of traditional leaders. We hope that the finalisation of the Bill will go a long way in facilitating the contribution of traditional authorities in our criminal justice system.

Critically, the successful implementation of the Property Rates Act by municipalities hinges on the effective collaboration between municipalities and traditional leaders. We encourage the traditional leaders to work closely with municipalities in the development of property rates policies within their municipal areas.

We are encouraged by progress we have made in ensuring that we create necessary institutional structures, and provide the requisite infrastructure, in support of the work of the traditional leadership constituency in the province. We have concluded decisions on office accommodation for the three Local Houses of Traditional Leaders. The Nkangala and Gert Sibande Local Houses will be accommodated at their respective district municipalities, while the Ehlanzeni Local House will temporarily be accommodated at the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders due to the unavailability of office accommodation at Ehlanzeni district municipality. The Nkangala and Gert Sibande are due to take full occupation of their offices from the 1 April 2008. The process for the appointment of support staff has been finalised.

Chairperson, Honourable members, Basotho ba re "Mokgori wa Morithi, ga se modudi, wa wona". It is with mixed emotions for me to announce that the opening of the new premises of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders was proposed to take place today as part of this function. However, it was considered to be an important development to warrant a separate dedicated moment. We shall hold that function, chairperson, without the presence of the late Chief Mthethwa, the person who tirelessly worked for it. For that reason, we may want to etch his memory in the minds of the broad public in the province by naming these offices after him.

Our work on the implementation of the Mpumalanga Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, 2005 is progressing well. The Department of Local Government and housing has finalised work in the preparation for the traditional local council elections. I am happy to report that the Department has finalised in all areas the 60 percent component of the traditional council that is nominated by the traditional leadership. The elections for the 40 percent of the traditional council that is directly elected by communities will be held no later April this year. We believe that the traditional councils will play a critical role in enhancing the work and contribution of traditional leadership institutions to development and service delivery. I would like to congratulate the traditional leaders for their contribution to this important work.

The significant progress that has been made in promoting women participation in traditional leadership institutions is the achievement that we should all marvel at. Equitable gender representation in the structures will exploit the diversity of talents that exists in our traditional communities.

Despite progress in the process towards establishment of traditional councils, we are conscious of the challenges around overlapping boundaries and land ownership disputes affecting some of the traditional communities. We will seek the collective wisdom and leadership of this House to ensure that disputes that arise are amicably resolved. We also will engage with the Department of Land Affairs to solicit their intervention and advice on processes to resolve land ownership issues.

Chairperson, traditional leaders should be at the forefront of monitoring and evaluating the quality of services in their communities so that they will alert government of the shortcomings and make inputs on these services could be better delivered. Traditional leaders should participate in structures such as the clinic and hospital boards to contribute to the implementation of measures by the Department of Health and Social Services to improve the delivery of health services in traditional communities.

As part of improving health service delivery, the Department of Health and Social Services is planning to establish 'health posts' in areas in under the traditional leadership jurisdiction. This model will see trained health personnel posted in communities to take care of the health needs of the community, and ensuring that emergency health situations are responded to effectively.

As the province tackles the challenges of HIV/AIDS, we believe that the traditional leaders should continue to play a central role in inculcating values that foster responsible sexual behaviour and practices in order to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Honourable Members, the provincial government is committed to providing social and economic infrastructure to promote development in areas under the traditional leadership jurisdiction. We will sustain our ongoing efforts to build roads and improve the public transport system to benefit communities in rural areas characterised by underdevelopment.

As we announced last year, our water for all flagship project is on course to address water services infrastructure challenges facing our communities, ensure access to clean water for all by 2010. Traditional leaders are encouraged to engage municipalities and ensure that they make inputs and monitor progress in areas within their jurisdiction.

Chairperson, we will continue to support the traditional leadership institutions to acquire requisite capabilities to play a critical role in community development and local economic development. In the coming year, we will implement capacity building programmes for the traditional leaders on community development and local economic development. These programmes will be implemented in collaboration with the National House of Traditional Leaders and the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority. We believe that traditional leaders will play a significant role in facilitating projects aimed at stimulating investment and economic development in areas under their control.

Chairperson, as highlighted by the President in the State of the Nation Address, the fight against the scourge of poverty remains a key apex priority of government. Our targeted anti-poverty programmes require the support and active participation of traditional leaders. As a province, we need to enhance the productive use of land to increase agricultural output in traditional communities promote sustainable livelihoods, and offer possibilities for rural people to generate income from the surplus agricultural produce.

Through the government Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), we should strengthen initiatives to support beneficiaries of rectitude land to ensure the productive use of land to increase agricultural output and create jobs. We have, in the coming year, also allocated additional resources to our Masibuyel'emasimini programme in order to support subsistence farmers.

Due to limited capacity and resource constraints, the implementation of this programme will not cover all the areas at once, but will be phased in over an extended period of time. During this time, we will constantly review the programme and ensure there is consistency and a shared understanding of what the programme is intended to achieve, and how it should be implemented.

Chairperson, quality education is an important investment we are making in our schools to ensure that we provide skills for the social and economic development needs of our communities. Critically, our schools and further education and training (FET) colleges should be positioned to focus on scarce and critical skills so that we are able to create a pool of skills relevant for the labour market.

As government, we believe that there should a strong partnership between traditional leaders and the provincial Department of Education in identifying scarce and critical skills that need to be developed in areas under the traditional leadership jurisdiction. There should be collaboration in mobilising resources to improve the performance of schools in rural and traditional communities. Traditional leaders are also in a better position to support community initiatives to make our schools safe for learners, and thereby creating an environment conducive for better performance by teachers and learners.

Chairperson, not only should we focus on the education of young people, but we should also tackle the problem of illiteracy which is prevalent in areas under traditional leadership control. As we prioritise the massive literacy campaign, we should work together to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources to implement Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) and literacy programmes.

We should strive to eradicate illiteracy on order facilitate meaningful participation by all the citizens in the economic and social life of society. We should work together to provide access to libraries so that communities have access to books and reading materials. We should enlist the support of traditional leaders in the implementation of the Fundza for Fun programme to promote the use of libraries to access knowledge and promote a culture of reading in our communities.

Chairperson, one of the key strategic goals of the National House of Traditional Leaders is the custodianship of cultures, customs, traditions and values. Within the provincial context, traditional leaders have a significant role to play in promoting indigenous languages and cultures as well as preserving heritage for future generations.

In support of the objectives of the Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism flagship project, traditional leaders could play an important role in the establishment and promotion of cultural villages in their areas to preserve heritage, indigenous cultures and practices characterising different communities in our province. These cultural villages will contribute significantly to cultural tourism as tourists will flock into the province to see, among other things, these cultural villages which showcase the diversity of cultures and heritage. This initiative will also offer possibilities for local people to participate in the tourism sector, thereby creating opportunities for earning income.

Addressing the annual opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders, President Mbeki reiterated the central role of the institution of traditional leadership in the moral regeneration of our nation. He said: "Once again, I must emphasise that as a custodian of our cultural values, the institution of traditional leadership occupies a strategic position in our society to provide the necessary leadership in the critical area of the moral regeneration of our nation."

In this regard, the NHTL must continue to uphold and promote sound morals and ethical practice, assisting government to raise social awareness on such challenges as crime and HIV and AIDS.

Traditional leaders in the province continue to support moral regeneration programmes targeted at inculcating moral values that help to entrench a culture of human rights, and discourage the infringement and curtailment of human freedoms. The prevalent incidents of murder, gender-based violence and the abuse of vulnerable people represent the repulsive aspects of our social life which we seek to change. In the spirit of mass mobilisation, it is crucial that government, traditional leadership institutions, civil society formations and communities work together to build a moral and ethical society.

Chairperson, in the State of the Province Address, I made a call that to effectively vanquish the devastating scourge of crime, we must all return to our street committees and prevent gender-based violence and the abuse of children, the elderly and people with disabilities. We must return to our village committees and street committees to vanquish the murderers and the rapists. I made this call knowing that our collective capacities cannot be defeated by the minority of rogue elements in our communities.

I am repeating this call today to underline that traditional leaders have a critical role to play in mobilising communities to curb the damaging effects of crime on development in our communities. Traditional leaders should work together with law enforcement agencies to rid their communities of criminal activities. More importantly, traditional leaders should act as agents of social cohesion through initiatives that encourage communities to share common moral values, and a common development agenda.

Chairperson, our support towards building a vibrant institution of traditional leadership in the Mpumalanga remains resolute. We believe that this institution has, over the years, become an indispensable component of our democratic governance system. We should build on progress we have made to bolster the partnership between government and the institution of traditional leadership in advancing development and service delivery for the people of Mpumalanga.

In conclusion, Chairperson, the enormity of work and challenges ahead is daunting, but not insurmountable. I wish the House well in discharging its responsibilities. I declare the Fourth Sitting of the Third Democratic Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders open.

I thank you.