Tough talking from MEC after death of five initiates
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Nqatha threatened on Tuesday to deduct monies from traditional leaders salaries if the scourge of initiate deaths persisted on their watch.
The MEC visited initiation schools in the Chris Hani District Municipality area, including Embo Madoda Traditional Male Circumcision School and Health Issues in Machibini, which he recommended should be closed down.
Nqatha said the school, which housed 28 initiates, did not follow the law and essentially the isiXhosa custom which required that the temporary hut initiates live in be burnt when they returned home.
All 28 of them are squashed into one house.
That is not healthy and could result in diseases.
The initiates are in a house in a residential area and that cannot happen. We do not want to see this school in the next season (June).
If we find it the next time we visit we will close it down.”
The visit by Nqatha follows the death of five initiates in the Chris Hani area, some of whom were under the required 18 years of age.
The Rep reported (“5 initiates die from dehydration ”, December 6) that they had died within seven days after they were advised not to drink water.
Nqatha said irresponsible parents contributed mostly to the death of their children by allowing them to go to initiation school while still too young.
“The government is deeply saddened by the recent deaths, after so many strides to try to curb initiate deaths through programmes that will prove the tightening of circumcision legislation.
“We are shocked that after all that work has been done and continues to be conducted, we are faced with 17 deaths this season alone, across the province.
“Where are the traditional leaders when all these things happen? They claim to be custodians of our traditions and customs, yet children are dying on their watch. We will start deducting monies from their salaries because this means they are failing at their work,” he said.
Nqatha said the Machibini initiation school served as a haven for hooligans who wanted to circumcise underage children during the off-season.
Chief Gwazinamba Matanzima of the House of Traditional Leaders said the entire provincial chieftaincy was disappointed that there were still boys who died in the name of the Xhosa custom.
“What we saw here is shocking. However, I spoke to the chief of this area to find an alternative place for the initiates because this is not safe and is contrary to our custom.”
Reacting to the MEC ’ s utterances about deducting salaries from chiefs, he said they were not omnipresent, therefore they could not be expected to know of every wrongdoing.
Sithembele Yamaphi, who runs the Machibini initiation school, said they had a court order permitting them to run the school, which had not had any deaths in its 15 years of existence.
“The leaders who came here have very little knowledge about us and what we do and I did not want to disturb them while they were speaking. This school is registered with the government as we sometimes take boys from poor families and circumcise them at no cost, with the assistance of food and other necessities from government.
“Almost all the traditional leaders who were here have never visited this place and yet they claim to be custodians of the custom. We normally have check-ups from the departments of health and social development and have strong relations with them.”
Yamaphi thanked Komani doctors who assisted initiates suffering from diabetes, HIV and asthma for providing them with medication free of charge.