opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders, City of Tshwane
4 May 2006
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi MB
Mzimela,
Deputy Chairperson, Kgosi FP Kutuma,
Your Majesties and Royal Highnesses,
Members of the National and Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders,
Honourable Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Sydney Mufamadi,
and
Deputy Minister, Nomatyala Hangana,
Your Worship, the Mayor of Tshwane, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to thank the National House of Traditional Leaders for
extending an invitation to me once again to make some short remarks at this
opening session of the House. This meeting takes place four days before our
national Parliament convenes to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption
of our Constitution.
This is the Constitution that outlines the rights of all our citizens, the
values that underpin our society and the institutions that are central to the
upholding, protection and promotion of these rights and values.
It is a Constitution that also recognises the status, the role and place of
the institution of traditional leadership. It is the same Constitution that
made provision for the establishment of the National House of Traditional
Leaders.
Indeed, over the years we have worked together to adhere to the
prescriptions of our constitution with regard to this and other important
institutions provided for by the supreme law of our land.
Chairperson, when we met here last year, we raised a number of matters which
we thought should be addressed by this House and I think we should continue to
attend to those issues because they are part of the many challenges that still
face all of us as we work for the transformation of our society.
These include the need to work together to ensure that our languages are not
marginalised and that we increase efforts to help, particularly our youth, so
that they become proficient in all our languages, that they understand and
appreciate our customs and traditions; that all of us are well versed with the
wisdom contained in our idioms, in our music and in our African outlook as
expressed in the concept and practice of Ubuntu.
We also discussed the important challenge to ensure that the regional and
continental structures of traditional leadership play a role in the
regeneration of our continent. Clearly, we should continue with this work so
that this institution becomes one of the catalysts for change in Africa.
Undoubtedly, these and many other challenges will continue to face us both in
the present and in the future.
During the course of this year, it is important, among other things, that we
align the Strategic Plans of the National House with those of the Provincial
Houses so that these Houses do their work from the same understanding and
within a unified perspective with regard to the role of the institution of
traditional leadership and the challenges facing both the institution as well
as our communities.
Among other things, the alignment of the plans would make it easier for all
of us to have a better understanding of the role that these Houses are playing
in the governance of our country.
Further, as all of us know, our country continues to be faced with a serious
task to pursue the goal of moral regeneration. In part, this arises from the
fact that many of our communities have abandoned the central tenets of our
value systems of Ubuntu, which for centuries ensured that our people acted
responsibly and respectfully towards one another, giving due regard to the
objective to respect the dignity of every individual regardless of their status
in society, concerned to protect the most vulnerable among us.
As we know, many of our people have turned their backs from the important
elements of Ubuntu of humanism, compassion, and solidarity, which ensured that
none among our people would go hungry when others live the life of luxury.
I think many of our people will agree that our traditional leaders have a
responsibility to take the lead and help all of us to value a life of respect,
of honesty and human dignity.
Working together with local councillors, provincial governments, religious
bodies, youth and women organisations, professional structures such as
teachersâ and other bodies, we need to ensure that the matter of moral
regeneration become central to our interactions within our communities.
In this regard, among other things, I am very encouraged by the partnership
that the National House of Traditional Leaders has concluded with the National
Prosecuting Authority. I understand that there is already some visible progress
in the matters you are dealing with in this partnership, and that training
around the matters of domestic violence has started.
Chairperson,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our traditional leaders
for their role in ensuring that our people participated in the last local
government elections. This is an important part of strengthening our democracy
which we achieved after many years of heroic struggles. These are the struggles
many of which were led by brave traditional leaders whose actions inspired
millions of our people to confront the might of colonialism and apartheid.
Accordingly we have a duty to deepen this democracy. We also have the
responsibility to improve the working relations between this institution of
traditional leadership with our elected public representatives so as to build a
better and a more effective machinery for the development of our communities,
especially those in the rural areas.
Indeed, we can only improve infrastructure and the delivery of services to
our people when we work together; when we do not regard one another as rivals
and when we respect our different but complimentary roles in rendering service
to our people.
As you are aware, our laws require that our traditional leaders should
participate in our local municipalities. The law further stipulates that no
development can take place in the area of an Inkosi without consultation with
the relevant Inkosi.
I therefore urge this leadership to be proactive in engaging elected
councillors to discuss issues affecting your communities and make constructive
contributions for the development of the areas over which you exercise
jurisdiction. Needless to say, the need to reach out in a spirit of cooperative
governance also applies to our councils as well.
By working constructively with our elected public representatives, we will
make it easier for development to take place. We will make it easier for local
economic development to materialise because all leaders would be focussing on
the challenge to end poverty and develop our communities.
During the course of this year we will establish the third level of the
Houses of traditional leaders, the Local Houses of Traditional Leaders. It
should be understood that the establishment of these local houses is yet
another way of strengthening our system of local government.
What is important is that traditional leaders will be represented at all
levels of government, the national, provincial and local. Clearly, we must use
this system of government to ensure that our traditional leaders truly add
value to the governance of our country.
Those traditional leaders who would be part of the local houses have to work
closely with councillors. They have to understand that this would them to
improve service delivery to their communities. They have to work with their
communities and the ward committees to help improve peoplesâ participation in
governance issues and ensure that the people themselves increase their
participation in the development process.
To enable them to carry out their tasks effectively, we should, as part of
building capacity at the municipal level, ensure that we provide these local
houses with the necessary capacity. Clearly, through these houses we have the
opportunity further to improve the relations between traditional leaders and
our democratically elected institutions, so that we achieve the necessary
levels of cooperation that can only benefit our people.
Chairperson:
Government is aware of the capacity requirements our traditional leaders
need in order to perform and contribute effectively the development of our
country. As part of addressing this challenge, the Department of Provincial and
Local Government is in the process of establishing an agency that would focus
on increasing the capacity of our councillors. It is clear that this agency
will also have to attend to the important matter of capacity building for our
traditional leaders.
The challenge to provide this capacity will guide us when we allocate
resources, because it is necessary to invest in the leadership and structures
that are close to our people, especially those in the rural areas where many of
our people continue to suffer from serious levels of poverty.
The central task ahead of us is to ensure that our system of governance as a
whole is properly geared to use the achievements we have scored over the last
12 years to accelerate our advance towards the realisation of the goal of a
better life for all.
It is only in this way that we will succeed to give meaning to the promise
we made, when we said that our country has entered into its Age of Hope. I am
certain that this House will do everything it can to ensure that that promise
does indeed result in speeding up the process of improving the standard of
living and the quality of life of all our people.
Once more thank you very much for making it possible for me to address you
on the important occasion of the opening of this House. On behalf of our
government and people, I wish you success in your important work focused on
serving the people of South Africa.
Thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
4 May 2006
