Issued by the Presidency
10 October 2000
The Joint Technical Committee that was established on the 30th of September to urgently determine whether the establishment of municipalities will diminish the powers of Traditional Leaders met with President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria today to officially hand over the report of the committee.
At the meeting, the committee chaired by the Legal Advisor of President Mbeki, Mojanku Gumbi, presented an overview on their deliberations over the past week and the proposals made.
The committee reported agreement on the fact that the powers of traditional leaders were diminished with the transition to democratic governance and that this needs to be addressed. The report proposes a number of different options to deal with the question of erosion of powers of Traditional Leaders.
The President thanked the committee for the report, saying that it would assist him in making a determination. President Thabo Mbeki indicated that he would apply his mind to the various proposals in the report and arrive at a determination to deal with the issue.
The President assured the representatives present that the government was committed to finding a solution to the issue of the erosion of powers of Traditional Leaders within the context of our democracy. The President then indicated that the announcement of the election date could not be delayed any further.
Traditional Leaders also expressed their appreciation of the commitment of the President to this process.
Enquiries: Nazeem Mahatey
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Tasneem Carrim
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