Address by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr SJ Ndebele, on the occasion of the International Conference on Traditional Leadership held at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban

Programme Director
His Majesty, King of the Zulu Nation
The Mayor of Ethekwini Municipality, Councillor Obed Mlaba
Honourable Ministers from various countries
Honourable Provincial Minister for Local Government, Housing and Traditional Affairs, Mr Michael Mabuyakhulu
Honourable Provincial Ministers from various provinces
Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors
Your Majesties, the Kings
Your Royal Highnesses; the Queens
Royal Princes and Princesses
Esteemed Traditional Leadership Strata, the world over
Members of the diplomatic corps
Eminent academics and scholars
Historians
Heads of departments
Distinguished guests
Observers
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed

It gives us pleasure as the government of KwaZulu-Natal to be part of this auspicious occasion where representatives of the institution of traditional leadership from across the world have converged to discuss critical issues that will begin to define the role that this institution plays in world affairs. This International Conference on Traditional Leadership could not have been held at a better venue for our country, South Africa and particularly the province of KwaZulu-Natal has done much to ensure that this institution receives the respect it deserves and is enabled to play its rightful in our country's affairs.

The government of KwaZulu-Natal is committed to deepening democracy in our province using all the social intervention tools at its disposal. All the tiers of our government, national, provincial and local, have various elected representatives of communities such as ministers, members of the executive council and councillors. We then have the non-elected community representatives such as the Community Development Workers (CDWs), agricultural extension workers etc. But, at the core of all this representation, we have the centuries-old traditional governance structure of Traditional Leadership.

Traditional Leaders play a vital role in social cohesion and general development in our communities. As Government, we have given full recognition to the institution of Amakhosi through a number of statutes. The primary aim of this recognition is the realisation on the part of government that we have a developmental province and therefore traditional leaders need to be recognised in law so that they can carry out their duties knowing fully well that they are empowered by the law to do so.

We have already taken the decision that we are, at all levels of our government, a state which has the following characteristics:

* We are interventionist as a state in both form and character that intervention must be geared towards improving the lives of all our people.
* We are in charge of a state which has an obligation to stimulate growth through redistribution and broadening participation in the economy.
* Our state deploys all available resources efficiently to provide social safety nets to the poor and vulnerable.
* Our state ensures that these safety nets are sustainable over time and do not entrap people at that level.
* We are committed to providing basic services to the general populace for the improvement of the quality of life.
* We are bound to create an environment conducive for citizens to take advantage of opportunities for their own development.
* We are expected to establish clear economic and social goals in order to guide development in our province.
* We have placed people at the centre of all our programmes prioritising the eradication of unemployment and pushing back the frontiers of poverty.

It is for this reason that the eradication of poverty has been at the centre of our policies and programmes since the first democratic elections. In 2004 we identified the goal of halving poverty by 2014 as one of the highest priorities. Programme Director, there can be no gain saying that traditional leaders have a big role to play in assisting government to achieve these noble objectives. We believe that because traditional leaders are part of one of the oldest forms of governance, we need to harness their collective strength and expertise so that they too can put their shoulder to the wheel and help us make a noticeable dent on underdevelopment and poverty.

Challenges

While our country has achieved a lot over the past 13 years, we still nevertheless face a number of challenges. Chief among these is the issue of crime. Because as a country we have proven that there is no challenge that is insurmountable, we believe that this is challenge that needs our collective effort. In this regard traditional leaders also a big role to play.

Programme Director, while our government has come up with a number of strategies to fight this challenge, we believe that, over and above other strategies we have adopted to combat this challenge, we need to engage traditional leaders and communities and work with them to reduce the prevalence of stolen goods in circulation. We talk here as the province of KwaZulu-Natal but we are aware that this challenge faces other parts of the world. Therefore, we hope this conference will also be a platform to exchange ideas on how traditional leaders from other parts of the world have dealt with the scourge of crime.

Addressing the national House of Traditional Leaders on 23 February this year, the President of the Republic, the honourable Thabo Mbeki, outlined the stance of the democratic government regarding traditional leadership, saying: "Two weeks ago I spoke about the various challenges facing our country when I presented and then participated in the debate of the State of the Nation Address."

The core message we sought to communicate as we did the mid-term review of this government as well as present the programme for the year and for the remainder of the term of government, was that the entirety of the South African society should work together in partnership to defend the advances that we have made, as well as intensify our work to confront the numerous challenges that still face our country and people.

"Accordingly, we said that we should work in partnership to erase that which is ugly and repulsive in human society and together speak of the freedom and happiness that come with liberty. "Clearly, it is impossible to achieve all this without the full participation, as an integral and responsible component part of our system of governance, of an institution of traditional leadership that is strong, sufficiently resourced and has the necessary capacity to discharge its mandate; an institution that works for development in partnership with the rest of government, civil society and communities; an institution that relentlessly promotes the values of Ubuntu and in every way helps to deepen our democracy and expand the access of our people to its benefits."

It is important to bear in mind that the emasculation of traditional leadership was a deliberate act by those bent on destroying the fabric of African identity and cohesion. Colonists who invaded the African Continent had but one objective in mind: the total domination of the African people and the exploitation of all available natural and human resources to benefit their huge and insatiable economic appetites. To achieve this, the traditional African way of life had to be totally annihilated. Over and above this, the colonizers knew very well that in order to achieve their vile objectives they needed to suppress the very heart and fabric of the rich African tradition by destroying its leadership.

During the pre-colonial period the institutions of traditional/indigenous leadership practiced its own systems of governance without any foreign influence or interference. The pre-colonial phase can therefore be perceived as a tranquil phase, in that administratively the institution used to practice its powers without any unwanted interference from outsiders. The traditional/indigenous institutions during this phase were thus 'wholly independent.'

In contrast, the colonial period across the globe marked a watershed in the history of the institution. This period was characterised by an unprecedented move by colonisers in trying to utilise traditional leaders as an auxiliary of their government administrators. A system of indirect rule was enforced and its negative effects on the institutions were enormous.

The erosion of power and undermining of the Sukuma Chieftaincy in Tanzania and the Gadaa system of the Oromo people in Ethiopia (Bessire: 2005) is just but one example of the brutality that was visited on the institution of traditional leadership.

In brief, the phase was marked by resistance, oppression, co-option of traditional/indigenous people and ultimately the creation of new institutions that did not have 'reference to history or culture.' The colonisers exerted a lot of pressure to tear apart the fibres of the institutions of traditional or indigenous leadership. This led to the partial collapse of the 'political' future of the traditional leaders because while trying to preserve what was left of their authority, the traditional leaders sacrificed their spiritual, economic power and mandate (Bessire: 2005). The phase was catastrophic to the institution of traditional leadership.

In South America, for instance the new diseases brought by colonisers helped to subdue the indigenous communities. As the diseases spread, the impact on the frontiers was catastrophic. This compelled the frontier communities to seek new ways of survival, particularly by coming closer to the colonial masters in search of help as junior partners. At some instances the institutions were weakened to the extent that they lost their entire independence.

The postcolonial era has been generally marked by zeal to redress the problems created by colonial rule. However, the attempts to redress have not gone by without criticism. The following have been seen as some of the issues of contention:

* the role of traditional institution in a democratic state
* legitimacy of institutions and communities
* legal entities versus cultures and traditions
* perpetuation of interference versus desire to transform the institutions

The current debate on the traditional/indigenous institutions oscillates around some of the above-mentioned issues. There is a school of thought that views the institution of traditional/indigenous leadership as inherently undemocratic and not having any place in an open democratic society. Among other things that the advocacy of this thought pin point, is the hereditary nature of traditional leadership, the lack of representation of youth and women and a perception that the institution stifles any form of political, social and economic development.

On the other side of the debate, there are those who view democracy as a vase on which the institution of traditional/indigenous leadership can flourish within it. They argue that the institution is not static, and it cannot afford to be. The institution has to take advantages of the apparatus of democracies to further its cause. In the Atlantic, a vibrant structure for traditional leaders is in existence along those lines, the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APCFNC).

In Africa there are suggestions to form a united African indigenous / traditional leader's forum under the banner of the Continental House of Traditional Leaders of Africa (COHTLA) or under the name Continental Union of African Traditional Leaders. The objectives of such a body will be to bring traditional leaders to be part of a process of conflict resolution and to foster good governance in Africa as well as economic development (Communique of the 1st Conference of African Traditional Leaders, Ghana).

The proposal is to position such an organ within the institutional framework of the African Union (AU) or possibly within New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). Indeed, the move to transform the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) to AU, was to fill the void created by the OAU as an organisation for Head of States only. The AU has created a platform and a conducive environment where the voices of the ordinarily people can be heard.

If the efforts succeed, this will create space for traditional institutions to occupy a meaningful role in democratic states. Most importantly, it will ensure that traditional leaders are able to influence decisions taken at multilateral forums' level. This will happen, we are convinced, without negating the contributions and the roles that elected representatives play within the same space. The role of women in the institution of traditional/indigenous leadership remains one of the issues that this institution should discuss frankly and with an open mind.

We are encouraged, for example, that in the continent of Africa some countries have taken a route to set quarters for the inclusion of women in traditional institutions. In South Africa, for instance, a third of Traditional Council members must be women. In Southern Ghana, women are included in nearly all paramount chieftaincies as queen mothers. These women, who are not necessarily the mothers of the chiefs, have the right to nominate even impeach chiefs. Queen mothers advise chiefs and also act as moral leaders of the community. But while these women are represented at the grassroots level of the House of Chiefs, they are not yet in the regional and national House of Chiefs (Ray: 2001).

This is similar to the situation in South Africa, where women are represented in the lower strata of the institution. The main hindrance in Africa for women to occupy positions of leadership in traditional institutions is attributed to custom and culture. In countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe, women can only be regents. Botswana seems to be the only country in the southern part of Africa that has crossed the Rubicon. After appointing Kgosi Mosadi Sebotto as a first woman Paramount Chief, through a process that was conducted following custom and tradition. Kgosi Mosadi Sebotto was also elected President of Botswana's House of Chiefs. We are convinced that, at this conference, robust debates among delegates on the issue of gender and traditional leadership will see us emerge with a resolution that will address this matter.

In the world, the role of traditional leaders is still very important in all aspects as they led in taking decisions on all matters that affect their communities. Traditional leaders are more and more realising that they should not only play a role of signing permits for conglomerates to extract natural wealth within their communities, but also their communities should benefit from the business transactions.

The Royal Bafokeng in South Africa is an example of a traditional community that has managed to utilise its natural wealth for the benefit of its community. A research funded by the International Development Research Council (IDRC), 2005 found that in Botswana, Ghana and South Africa, traditional leaders remain, for a variety of reasons, important to the design and implementation of development regardless of whether or not traditional leaders have statutory jurisdiction granted by the postcolonial state.

In light of the above, President Mbeki has therefore set out a clear mandate for the revitalisation of the institution of traditional leadership, setting out the following objectives:

* the preservation and promotion of our cultures and customs, which promote the values of Ubuntu
* the regeneration of the moral fibre of our society
* the protection and development of African indigenous languages
*the role of traditional leaders in development and in promoting the health, safety and well-being of our communities, always working in partnership with other institutions of government and the rest of society;
* the transformation of the institution of traditional leadership to embrace our national democratic principles, with special emphasis on the role of women, the youth and people with disabilities
* the strengthening and capacitating of the institution of traditional leadership, so as to make it an efficient and effective instrument of change;
* the implementation of the laws relating to the institution, working in this regard with all the different spheres of government
* strengthening the role of traditional leaders in the renaissance of the African continent.

The world faces a number of challenges that afflict humanity. Poverty, illiteracy, disease, conflict and denigration of culture are among some of the challenges that face us a collective. For a long time, a critical pillar of the world's leadership structure, the institution of traditional leadership has not played as big and as decisive a role as it could play in order to address some of the ills afflicting the world.

This conference is a beacon of hope, not only for the institution, but for the people of the world because it means that the whole world will now be able to benefit from the leadership, wisdom, innovation and expertise of traditional leaders. Today marks the welcoming of a critical battalion of soldiers who will, working together with their governments and other stakeholders immerse it in creating a world fit for the coming generations. We have no doubt that, as your forebears have done in the past, you will rise to the challenge of building a just, prosperous and peaceful world.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 October 2007