with Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini
4 February 2009
In yet another clear indication of the central role that traditional
leadership is increasingly being called upon to play by the Department of
Provincial and Local Government on issues of governance and rural development,
Minister Sicelo Shiceka will meet with the Zulu monarch, King Goodwill
Zwelithini, at Linduzulu Royal Offices in Kwa Nongoma on Thursday, 6 February
2009.
The meeting follows a series of meetings Minister Shiceka has held with
traditional leaders in the country since he came into his portfolio as Minister
for Provincial and Local Government in September, during which time he has met
with the traditional leadership of aba Thembu, ama Xhosa and ama
Rharhabe.
"The meeting is another step forward in strengthening the relationship between
the department and traditional leaders, as an important and critical sphere of
leadership for the vast majority of our communities, particularly those eking
out a living in rural areas. We need to find a way of placing issues of
traditional communities central in government's planning, and the King will
obviously play a key role in this process," Minister Shiceka said.
Meetings with traditional leaders have been the central feature in Minister
Shiceka's Intergovernmental and Community Dialogue programme where the Minister
has visited provinces to meet with key stakeholders of the department in a bid
to collectively find solutions to blockages that hamper service delivery. These
have included premiers, mayors, municipal and ward councillors as well as
traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape, Free State and the Northern Cape.
In what traditional leaders across tribal and provincial divide have
uniformly hailed as a major breakthrough in the recognition of the role of
traditional leadership in the country, the Department of Provincial and Local
Government (dplg) is in the process of finalising steps towards the
establishment of a Department of Traditional Affairs which should be in
operation by the beginning of the next financial year.
Minister Shiceka says that to improve the country's performance in rural
development and achieving better integration in spatial planning, economic
development and social cohesion, traditional leadership and traditional affairs
needed to be located at the centre of governance.
Enquiries:
Vuyelwa Qinga Vika
Cell: 082 877 3898
Tel: 012 334 0995/0993
E-mail: VuyelwaQ@dplg.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
4 February 2009
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government (http://www.dplg.gov.za/)
