The Chaiperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders,
Honourable Members of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders,
Esteemed Traditional Leaders of our province
Head men and women
Ba bagolo b aka difokeng, bakgoma le bakgomana
Executive Mayor and mayors
Honourable councilors
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Programme director,
Today marks the dawn of a new era for the proud community of Bjatladi bja Mmamorele. We say so because today Kgoshigadi Mamabolo Mposho Veronica is getting into the shoes of her late husband Kgoshi Molapi Phillip Mamabolo. As we celebrate this occasion, the founding fathers of the Bjatladi Community are rejoicing as they see Khoshigadi Mamabolo taking over the reigns and preparing to lead this community to greater heights. It is a new beginning that will no doubt propel them further unto the path of prosperity, development and indeed a better life for all. The founding fathers of this community expect of her to continue to be the guardian of this community's rich history and cultural heritage. They will indeed feel let down if the gains they made in defending their customs and traditions, despite the brutality of colonial domination, are not advanced.
Correctly so, the founding fathers of this community have high expectations that Kgoshigadi Mamabolo will deliver this community from the icy and painful grip of poverty and underdevelopment. It is for this reason that those of us gathered here today have a duty to wish Kgoshigadi Mamabolo well as she begins the long and hard journey of leading her people to the Promised Land. As you will know, Traditional Authority is, in fact, the bedrock of democracy in southern Africa. It is a tried and trusted system that existed for centuries before the colonisation of our continent. Heroic early leaders such as King Sekhukhune, Makhado, Malebogo, Nngungunyane,Makgoba and Mokopane fought valiantly against the colonialist attempt to subjugate them, occupy their land and eradicate their system of government and authority.
The African National Congress was the first amongst political parties in our country to address the question of traditional leadership. Its first constitution, adopted in 1909, provided a forum within Congress known as Upper House of Chiefs. Matters which affected areas under the jurisdiction of Traditional Leaders and were of their interest were constitutionally referred to Traditional Leaders as an organised body in the Upper House.This attitude of the ANC created a framework, which allowed Traditional Leaders to look at local problems and address them from the point of view of the national and provincial agenda, which sought to advance the interest of the African majority against the oppressor. This means our traditional leaders have a compelling obligation to ensure that the ANC continues to work very hard to achieve all the objectives behind which it was formed. Traditional leaders have a responsibility to assist in building a united province where people are not valued according to their ethnic identity.
Our Traditional leaders carry on their shoulders the task of ensuring that our future as people is better than the previous moments. We are jointly expected to ensure that the dreams and aspirations of our people are achieved and celebrated. We have always said that traditional leaders in our province are an integral part of government institutions required by history to participate in every effort that is aimed at improving the living standards of our people. Together we can make Limpopo and our country as a whole the land of opportunities for the present and future generations. We must build confidence amongst our people and ensure that our movement is cemented by success.
Our institution of Traditional Leadership continues to enjoy an indispensable place in our democratic system of governance. The legislative framework that is now firmly in place has clearly enunciated the purpose and role of this institution in our society. We can now say that there is an unparalleled certainty in the future existence and recognition of this institution. As always, our Government will continue to rely on your wise counsel on matters of traditional leadership, custom, heritage and language as you are the rightful custodians of these values. We expect traditional leaders to play an active role in the direction of our municipalities, not only as people who are invited to meetings, but most importantly as people who offer advice in what ought to be done to improve municipal service to our people. It is for this reason that we take this opportunity to congratulate those of our traditional leaders in our province who are actively participating in the governance of their municipal areas, either as elected public representatives or as traditional leaders of the people.
We must make the point that that under the leadership of Kgoshigadi Mamabolo, the community of this area must take part in their own development. They must desist from being innocent bystanders in the ongoing endeavour to improve the quality of their lives. They must join hands with their Kgoshigadi and put their collective shoulder to the wheel in order to launch a sustained onslaught on poverty and underdevelopment in this area. It is this partnership between Kgoshigadi and the community that will bring prosperity to this community and make it an envy of all in our province and indeed the whole country. More importantly, it is this partnership that will give practical meaning to the saying that: 'Kgoshi ke kgoshi ka sechaba'. Equally important, we who are gathered here today must make a call to Khoshigadi to forge strong partnerships with local government structures in this area. The daunting task of provision of free basic services can only be completed through partnerships and cooperation with all stakeholders including traditional leaders. As government continues its delivery of services, Traditional leaders always play a meaningful role in the identification of beneficiaries for all free basic services. We cannot tolerate a practice where wrong beneficiaries are identified as deserving while the right beneficiaries are relegated to the background.
Councillors in this area and Kgoshigadi must understand that their roles are complementary. You must embrace each other for the greater good of the community you serve. You both have a duty to work together in order to facilitate sustainable development in this area. Should you neglect this duty, the only losers will be the community you are supposed to serve As government, we move from the premise that the institution of traditional leadership has earned for itself a special place in the hearts and minds of our people. It has distinguished itself as a progressive force for change in our country and has played a critical and decisive role in resisting colonial aggression. It is therefore imperative for our traditional leaders to conduct themselves in a manner that befits the institution.That today we count ourselves among the liberated nations of the world is in part due to the heroic contributions of traditional leaders in our country. Working together with the elected representatives of our people, the institution of traditional leadership has a duty to entrench and broaden the gains of democracy in our country and more specifically in the rural areas.
We must not lose sight of the fact that we share a common vision and a common passion to improve the quality of life of our people. It is this spirit that must guide us as we face the challenges ahead. It is this spirit that must cause us to face the future with confidence that the scourge of poverty and underdevelopment in our communities will eventually succumb to our collective and determined push. We call upon all those traditional leaders who are involved in leadership disputes to cooperate with the Kgatla Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims for speedy resolutions of such claims. Of equal concern is the staging of illegal initiation schools by those who claim to be legitimate traditional leaders. We need to work together on this issue as this is highly unacceptable and is a practice that we cannot allow to continue. In closing, programme directors, I would like to emphasise that the task of strengthening democracy in our country and improving the lives of all South Africans is the responsibility of all leaders in our province - traditional, religious and the elected. We ask that we join our hands and build vibrant and self-sufficient traditional communities, and in so doing restore our African Heritage and Culture to its rightful place. We join the many in this community and indeed the whole of Limpopo in wishing Kgoshigadi Mamabolo the best for the future. May her community prosper and most importantly turn their backs on poverty and underdevelopment under her capable leadership. It is what we do in the sunlight of our freedom that counts. Our future is greater than our past.
Pula!!!!!
Ke a leboga.
