E Molewa: Opening of Provincial House of Traditional Leaders

17 March 2009

* Chairperson of the Provincial House, Kgosi Mabe
* Deputy Chairperson, Kgosi Mankuroane
* Chairpersons of local houses, Kgosi Shole and Kgosi Matlapeng
* Deputy Chairpersons of local houses, Kgosi Lentswe and Kgosi Nawa
* Judge President, Mogweng Mogweng
* Representatives of the National House
* Representatives of all provincial houses
* Members of the Executive Council
* Members of Parliament
* Representatives of local municipalities
* Chairperson of the Bahumagadi Forum
* Dikgosi tsa gaetsho tsotlhe
* Bahumagadi le boMmadikgosi
* Distinguished guests
* Bagaetsho botlhe

Momentous era

Chairperson, this House sits at a time both auspicious and challenging for
our country and our province.

This year is the fifteenth year of our freedom and democracy – and the
contribution of our traditional leaders to the solidity of that democracy is
immeasurable. That contribution extends to development and the betterment of
our people's lives as Dikgosi have, over the years, co-operated with our
municipalities in the delivery of basic services, such as water and
electricity, to our communities, notably in the rural areas.

Indeed, Dikgosi continue to be a strong and valuable link in the chain of
co-operative governance prescribed by our Constitution. The annual opening of
this House, with all the spheres of our government represented, bears testimony
to that.

This year is also the year of our fourth democratic elections. The
non-partisan role of Dikgosi in encouraging popular participation in the
election of our country's public representatives is, as always, highly
appreciated.

It is also the year of the Confederations Cup as a prelude to our hosting of
the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Our mobilisation, as leaders, of total unity behind
both our national team and the national delivery of the event, is absolutely
vital for the economic development – especially tourism – in our province, and
the benefit of our communities.

Salutations, condolences and good wishes

Chairperson, it is with pleasure, humility and gratitude that I am here to
exercise the honour of addressing this august institution – our Provincial
House of Traditional Leaders – on its eighth sitting.

A month ago, when I delivered the State of the province Address (SOPA), I
said our vision of a society free of poverty and underdevelopment lives on. As
I stand here today poised to exercise the honour of addressing Dikgosi, let me
restate that position: Our vision lives on.

Before I exercise the honour of speaking in some detail on the positive
intergovernmental relations between us and our traditional leaders, let me
please recognise the esteemed presence, among us, of representatives of the
National House of Traditional Leaders as well as Amakhosi and Dikgosi le
Bahumagadi from other provincial houses of traditional leaders. Let me also
acknowledge the royal presence of Kgosi Ebineng Otsoaeng, Deputy Chairperson of
the Botswana House of Traditional Leaders. Majesties, we are privileged to have
all of you among us here today.

On a sombre note, Chairperson, we mark with deep sorrow and sadness the
passing on, last year, of Kgosi TM Maselwane of Bakwana boo Modimosana ba
Baselwane. Kgosi Thaganyane, too, who used to be a member of the House before
areas Kgalagadi and Cassel were incorporated into the Northern Cape, has also
been called to higher service. We also lost nine Dikgosana in the past year. As
this has left some of our communities without recognised leadership, we have
communicated the request for the relevant royal families to accelerate the
process of filling these vacancies.

May the souls of all the departed rest in the bosom of our ancestral spirits
as our condolences go to their families, friends and loved ones. Their loss is
our nation's loss, for every nation owes its sustainable existence to its
leaders, especially those, such as Dikgosi, at the grassroots.

We note, as well, that Kgosi Letlhogile, wa kwa Ganyesa, and Kgosi Motsatsi,
advisor to the premier on traditional leadership, are unfortunately afflicted
by ill-health. We pray for their speedy recovery so that they may continue to
serve and lead their communities.

Achievements of the House

Chairperson, I am reliably informed that this sitting will be followed by a
mega event in celebration of this House's achievements over the years. Indeed,
there is much to celebrate, and I bring congratulatory messages from the people
and the government of the Province.

It is worth celebrating that this House was the first Provincial House of
Traditional Leaders to be established in the country. The inaugural Chairperson
of the National Council of Traditional Leaders, now the National House of
Traditional Leaders, was a member of this House. The House was also
instrumental in the establishment of two Local Houses of Traditional Leaders in
2007. It has also played a pivotal role in the mediation and resolution of
succession disputes.

Also in support of the wellness of traditional leadership and the welfare of
traditional leaders the House has set up the North West Dikgosi Group Scheme –
which includes funeral cover for Dikgosi and their spouses – and a Group Car
Scheme for Dikgosi.

Because of its sound organisation the House has, over the years, commented
on and made inputs into a number of laws referred to it, including the Communal
Property Act 28 of 1996; the Communal Land Rights and Administration Act 11 of
2004; and the Municipal Systems Act of 2000. This process of active engagement
with legislation is bound to be enhanced by the launch, in 2008, of the House's
website with the help of the Department of Communications (DoC).

In terms of social responsibility beyond governance some members of the
House are actively involved in community-based organisations, and in June 2008
the House itself launched the North West Traditional Leaders' HIV and AIDS Task
Team.

More, Chairperson, of the successes and the leadership of this House on
matters traditional will be revealed in the course of our address to this royal
House. It suffices, for now, to say what we have here is a dynamic institution
which is mellowing and evolving in time with the challenges of socio-political
our milieu. What we have is a traditional leaders' House existing in a healthy
and coherent relationship with government.

Traditional leaders and the global economic meltdown

Leadership is particularly crucial now as we face our biggest economic
challenge since the advent of our democracy. We need the calm and considered
leadership of our traditional leaders to help the most vulnerable of our
communities – our rural people – navigate their way through this period of
hardship. Our traditional leaders are perfectly placed to encourage their
communities to undertake activities, such as small-scale farming and
agriculture, to mitigate the effects of the economic slowdown we are currently
experiencing. Our traditional leaders are best situated to mobilise our
communities into the communal co-operation required to weather the worst of
this economic depression, and therefore to keep our vision of our people's
development alive.

Support for traditional leaders

We are of the firm belief that if our traditional leaders are to provide the
quality of leadership and service required for these and other challenges, we
have to continue their empowerment on all fronts. We have to build,
Chairperson, on our track record of promulgating the right laws and regulations
give relevant powers to traditional leaders. We have to build on our
establishment of our Province's House of Traditional Leaders with its own
secretariat and administrative support. We have to build on our construction,
thus far, of seven fully furnished and administratively equipped traditional
council office complexes, each at approximately R6,1 million. We have to build
on our current construction of another one, and our completed renovation of
another two, traditional council offices.

It is estimated that on our current budget scope it would take another
thirty years to complete the programme of covering all our traditional leaders.
That suggests a need for us to jointly mobilise the necessary resources to
accelerate the programme so that within a reasonable period of time all our
traditional leaders are infrastructurally and administratively capacitated to
effectively and efficiently discharge their governance mandate.

This will continue our active and practical response to a point made in 2000
by Eustace Davie, then director, Free Market Foundation, that "As matters now
stand, traditional leaders are accused of doing nothing for their people, yet
they have been given neither power nor resources with which to provide
infrastructure or services of any kind."

Indeed, Chairperson, it is our commitment to continuously affirm our
traditional leaders' role in the empowerment of their communities within the
framework of our country's Constitution.

Our concerted programme of building traditional council offices,
Chairperson, has also had the important by-product of poverty alleviation among
our rural communities – with hundreds of employment opportunities created. To
cite a representative case, four days ago I had the privilege of officially
opening and handing over the Baphuting ba ga Nawa traditional office. Through
the use of labour intensive methods and the transfer of skills to local people,
the building of that office advanced the objectives of the Expanded Public
Works Programme (EPWP) and the Provincial Poverty Eradication Strategy – in the
process creating employment for 33 people.

To further empower our traditional leaders administratively, we shall soon
be purchasing vehicles for traditional councils. Together with this House we
will have to develop a policy to manage these vehicles in a manner which shall
make them contribute to the administrative and economic development of our
communities.

With regard to this House specifically we have just bought two executive
cars for the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson, as fulltime members of the
House, to be able to discharge their ever-increasing responsibilities
occasioned by the growing importance, and workload, of this House. The cars are
currently going through pre-delivery checks and registration.

We are also, Chairperson, addressing serious concerns around the lack of
auditing of traditional councils' books. Accordingly I am pleased to announce
that the Auditor-General (AG) is giving this matter special attention and has
identified a person to work with us in search of a solution. We expect that
working hand in hand with this House we shall end up with traditional
institutions trained and capacitated to handle their financial management and
accounting responsibilities in line with good corporate governance.

Related to this is our equipping of our traditional councils with financial
controls and systems to manage their own funds. This is intended to ensure
compliance with the law, but it will also help reduce tensions that are lately
emerging in some communities around funds and their management.

Another of our enhancements of the work of our traditional leaders relates
to the conditions of service of employees of the traditional councils. In this
regard, while we have tried to assist by providing funds to improve the
salaries of the employees, we need to do more. Accordingly we will soon be
commissioning a study to determine how best to improve their working conditions
– one option being to absorb them into the public service workforce.

Alignment between national plans for traditional leaders and the North West
(NW) province's plans

Chairperson, in empowering our traditional leaders and their institutions,
we are in synch with national government. At our level we, too, are committed
to strengthening the partnership between government and the institution of
traditional leadership to focus on rural development and fighting poverty.

In his address at the opening of the second session of the third term of the
National House of Traditional Leaders on 20 February 2009, the President of the
Republic of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, announced the establishment of
the Department of Traditional Leadership, effective 1 April 2009. The President
said this was to ensure that matters of traditional leadership are dealt with
at the highest level of management within government.

At our level chairperson, we have taken a decision to upgrade our
traditional leadership directorate into a chief directorate. The chief
directorate will consist of three directorates, the first focusing on the
Houses of Traditional Leadership; the second on administrative support; and the
third being an anthropological section. This structural realignment is intended
to ensure highly focused support to Dikgosi and a quick response system to
their needs. We are in the process of implementing this decision and the
Director-General (DG) will soon be briefing the House on the process.

The President also alluded to the imminent skills development and capacity
building for the institution of traditional leadership. We have, on our part,
and in line with the announcement we made to this House last year, already
taken 30 traditional leaders through the Local Government Sector Education and
Training Authorities (SETA) training modules on Local Economic Development
(LED) and Community Development. This was part of our province's piloting of
the Comprehensive National Program of Support for Dikgosi, and this House
played a key role in that regard.

With regard to co-operation between municipalities and traditional councils,
the President referred to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between the National House of Traditional Leaders and the South African Local
Government Association (SALGA).

Pursuant to such co-operation in our province a few months ago our own
Dikgosi signed an agreement with SALGA NW. The agreement envisages stronger
working relations and open lines of communication between organised local
government and institutions of traditional leadership, and between Dikgosi and
municipal councillors. This can only be good for development and constructive
for our communities.

This development is particularly appreciated in a context where, we must
admit, the participation of traditional leaders in municipal activities still
seems to be a challenge. The problem, we are aware, stems from inconsistent
policies adopted by municipalities with regards to benefits extended to
traditional leaders taking part in the municipalities in terms of section 81 of
the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998. The implementation
of the MoU promises scope for the resolution of this and any other areas of
misunderstanding between our municipalities and traditional leaders.

Another area of alignment between us, as a province, and national government
relates to traditional leadership and governance legislation to enhance the
effective functioning of the institution of traditional leadership.

In our province chairperson, we have received some concerns and inputs on
the legislative framework governing this institution, including the
synchronisation of this House with other Houses. We have acted on these inputs.
Part of our action entails, as an interim measure, the suspension of some of
the clauses in our legislation pending the finalisation of all relevant
legislative amendments.

Indeed chairperson, we are fully at one with national government on all
aspects pertaining to traditional leadership and traditional communities.

Rural development programme and traditional and cultural issues

Accordingly, being a province with a strong rural base, we shall be playing
a critical role, hand in hand with our traditional leaders, on the
comprehensive rural development programme announced by the President. Being
more vulnerable than most, our rural communities constitute a key target group
for our socio-economic development initiatives and interventions in the second
half of the second decade of our freedom and democracy. Living in the rural
areas of our province should mean no second class status for any of our
people.

Also continuing will be our engagement with this House on issues raised by
the National House of Traditional Leaders with central government. These
include land matters and the regulation of cultural practices within
traditional communities. Let this House be assured of our recognition of the
centrality of traditional leaders in the resolution of these, and other,
matters with implications for traditional communities, as indeed government's
participation in last year's National Heritage Council (NHC) conference on
traditional African practices and human rights attests.

We shall also continue working with our traditional leaders in the creation
of an ubuntu/botho-based value system – including unity, social cohesion, moral
regeneration, mutual respect, humility, and a firm stance against crime and
corruption – within our communities. Our traditional leaders represent the
continuation of our traditional culture of commitment to the common good and
values that build.

We do, of course, recognise, as King Arthur says in Alfred Lord Tennyson's
"Morte D'Arthur", that:

The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.

Indeed, change is a reality we cannot escape, but there are enduring
customs, values and traditions – upon which nations are built – that we cannot
compromise on, and that our traditional leaders continue to be custodians
of.

Some of those values are care and concern for the less fortunate –
necessitating, then, the protection and the defence of victims of racism and
xenophobia, and support for those afflicted by diseases such as Tuberculosis
(TB), HIV and AIDS.

One of our interventions chairperson, to ensure the continued capacity of
our traditional leaders to safeguard our core values, customs, culture and
traditions, involves our handling of conflicts and instability within the very
institution of traditional leadership in our province. In the recent past we
have therefore had to take extraordinary measures to ensure some stability and
good governance in some of our traditional communities. In this regard we
appointed administrators in Bopong ba Mogale and Bakwena ba Mogopa, and we will
be appointing a team to investigate the conflict in Bodibe.

Our invocation chairperson, of the role of traditional leaders in the
maintenance of our cultural tradition, and our handling of traditional
leadership conflicts with the involvement of the House, are informed by the
White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Governance, which recognises the fact
that traditional leaders still have a major role to play with regard to
development, custodianship and implementation of customary norms and practices
of traditional communities.

As Phillipe Sawadogo said in 1995 when he was Secretary-General of the
Pan-African film festival, Fespacol:

Culture is both the beginning and the end of development. We must see it as
part of our identity. It is the common place where all our people can come
together and discuss things. We often think of economics and politics, but we
must think of culture as equally important.

Conflict resolution in the context of traditional leadership

The White Paper, Chairperson, also acknowledges the fact that traditional
leaders also have a role to play in dispute resolution.

Our interventions in the resolution of traditional leadership disputes also
represent our practical commitment, as government, to good and clean
governance, and to ensuring that no conflict, particularly within royal
families, affects community development. We know that this is a commitment we
share with you, and so it remains critical for the House of Traditional Leaders
to continue playing a central role in the resolution of any traditional
leadership disputes.

As we all intervene towards the resolution of those disputes, we would
assist the protagonists if we reminded them of the instructive words of Dan
Oestreich, that:

Leadership is not a position or formal power. It is our personal impact on
others and our contribution to creating a better world. There are a million
contexts for effective leadership – from corporate guidance to raising a child,
from political change to writing a poem. What we do in each moment co-creates
the kind of world in which we live. Each of us has the obligation to look, to
see what can be done to make our shared life a little richer, stronger, and
closer to the dream of what we can be – separately, and as one community – and
then to act. And that act, first and foremost, is the act of leading
ourselves.

It is that conceptualisation of selfless leadership which promises to make
our shared and collective vision a reality – the vision of a society
characterised by the equal development of all our people, rural and urban. I
need not reemphasise the centrality of our noble institution of traditional
leadership in that regard.

The development agenda for the next five years

Through that leadership, and our own, we look forward to the next five years
of our nation's governance and development. Together let us pursue the
achievement of our vision as encapsulated in the following:

* Successful industrial policies which will lead to the creation of decent
and sustainable jobs for sustainable livelihoods.

* The renewal of our schooling and education systems for the benefit of our
children, particularly those in rural areas and previously disadvantaged
areas.

* Aggressive prevention campaigns and increased access to antiretrovirals
(ARV) to drastically reduce the rate of HIV infections and AIDS. This must go
together with all efforts to upgrade and improve the health services at our
public hospitals and clinics.

* The continued empowerment of rural communities through, among others,
improved rural farming, and thus food security.

* Rooting out corruption and fighting crime in every sphere of our lives,
ensuring that we leave no room for criminality.

From the traditional leadership perspective, let us continue strengthening
the developmental relationship obtaining between the three spheres of
government and the institution of traditional leadership. It is only in the
context of co-operative governance and sound intergovernmental relationships
that we can all share the obligation, and the compliments, of service and
leadership to our people.

Conclusion

In closing, Chairperson, may I reiterate my gratitude for the invitation to
address this noble House of our province's royalty. May I also echo a sentiment
I earlier expressed, namely that let there be co-operation between us and our
traditional leaders on the FIFA Confederations Cup – which is only three months
away – and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Together let us ensure, in consultation
with our soccer authorities, that these international spectacles benefit not
only our urban but also our rural and traditional communities. Our position
chairperson is that working together we can do more.

And may those benefits signify the greater and longer term benefits that our
people shall enjoy under our inspired leadership both as elected and as
traditional representatives – mindful, in the words of a Yoruba proverb, that
"If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before
us."

Pula! Pula! I thank you all.

Issued by: North West Provincial Government
17 March 2009