TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP UNDER PUBLIC SCRUTINY
IT IS in memory of the great King Shaka who ascended to the throne of the Zulu kingdom some 200 years ago that we now celebrate Heritage Day.
However, 22 years into democracy, and centuries after Shaka’s death, the role of traditional leaders has come under scrutiny – with some dismissing it as archaic and oppressive.
Chairman of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi Pontsho Maubane, is well aware of the raging sentiments against traditional leadership but stands firm in his belief that a vast majority of people, especially in rural areas, still depend on the institution.
Maubane said traditional leaders remained relevant as custodians of the people’s cultural heritage and traditions.
He said traditional leaders assist communities with things such as land allocation, create social cohesion as well as work with municipalities to tackle service delivery issues.
Maubane said although traditional leaders are the primary promoters of customs, they must also exclude outdated practices which may infringe upon human rights.
He said the institution had made great strides in gender transformation, adding that its survival in generations to come would also depend on the ability of leaders to move with the times by staying in tune with technological advancements and speaking the language of the youth.
“It is going to survive. It has survived colonisation and apartheid. Criticism comes from Western-sponsored agencies,” Maubane said.
Rural land rights activist Vasco Mabunda is of the view that the institution has been tainted by centuries of colonial rule and apartheid and has no chance of ever being rehabilitated. Mabunda said that during apartheid most legitimate leaders were sidelined and replaced by those who were willing to advance the interest of the oppressors.
He also hinged his arguments on how traditional leaders were used by the regime to enforce laws such as the Bantu Authorities Act which contributed towards the division of black people along tribal lines.
“The institution has been corrupted by successive colonial and apartheid regimes. It is no longer relevant. It might seem like we are working against African culture but I can tell you that people are just being nostalgic. The institution is not what it used to be,” he said.
Mabunda also argued that people in rural areas are forced to remain the subjects of kings and chiefs instead of being citizens in a constitutional democracy.
“It actually works against the people. For instance, poor people are still forced to pay levies to a chief on top of the normal taxes they pay for goods and services. How do you reconcile citizenship with being a subject of the chief?”
The chairman of the provincial house of traditional leaders in Limpopo, Kgoshi Malesela Dikgale, drew a more practical picture of how people depend on traditional leaders to address their day-today issues.
Limpopo, a vastly rural province, has a high number of traditional leaders. According to Dikgale there are currently 185 senior leaders and 2 111 headmen.
Dikgale said in some instances people preferred the council of their traditional leader to resolve their issues, including marital problems.
“Sometimes people will refuse to see a social worker. They trust that the traditional leader knows everything,” Dikgale said.
He also believes that women have always played a key role in appointing leaders. “You can never have a kgoshi without a woman. Go to Venda and you will see that without Makhadzi there can be no senior traditional leaders,” he said.
National coordinator of the Alliance for Rural Democracy, Constance Mogale, said: “It is going to be people at the end of the day who decide on the fate of the institution.”
“It is people who will decide fate of the institution