Amakhosi and their families to receive medical aid benefits
It’s now official; Traditional leaders and their immediate dependants would be provided with medical and pension fund benefits and can now start applying through the Government Medical Aid Pension Scheme (GEMS), Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube has announced today.
The KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) is giving effect to the Presidential proclamation which provides for traditional leaders and their dependants to receive benefits as members of the Government Employee Medical Aid Scheme (GEMS) by facilitating that amakhosi do register for medical benefits.
“This is yet another important step we are taking in our efforts to empower our traditional leaders to pIay a crucial role as a functional interface between traditional communities and the government,” said KZN MEC for COGTA Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
COGTA maintains that by taking advantage of this latest benefit, traditional leaders will be able to reap the fruits of the democratic dispensation and the provincial government’s desire to undo the wrongs of the past.
“The medical aid benefits for amakhosi and their dependants will go a long way towards our ultimate goal of affording the institution of traditional leadership its rightful and dignified place within our communities,” said Dube-Ncube.
In addition to the medical aid benefits, COGTA has over the past few years rolled our major capacity building programmes for individual amakhosi and their respective traditional councils which can now take advantage of new facilities and support staff.
“This latest intervention is yet another clear indicator that we are serious when we talk about restoring the dignity of the institution of Traditional Leaders,” Dube-Ncube concluded
For more information contact:
KZN COGTA Spokesperson
Lennox Mabaso
Cell: 082 884 2403
