Move to dock chiefs’ pay over atrocities
Teenagers die and others suffer terrible injuries in botched rituals
THE pay of tribal chiefs and headmen in whose areas there have been initiation atrocities will be docked.
This was the warning from the Eastern Cape’s health MEC, Sicelo Gqobana, following botched circumcisions in which some boys died and others suffered terrible injuries.
Gqobana has proposed that the Eastern Cape provincial house of traditional leaders take greater responsibility for initiation schools.
This year, the deaths at initiation “schools” across South Africa sparked outrage yet again — as well as renewed calls for tougher regulation.
But the idea has been slammed by chief Phathekile Holomisa, president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, who said it was a bad idea. “When a government department does not deliver, will the minister lose a salary? This idea should not be taken seriously.”
Gqobana’s proposal includes forcing traditional leaders to explain the deaths and initiation-related injuries.
He also wants the “schools” to be centralised in three Xhosa kingdoms — the Thembu, Pondo and Mpondomise clans — where most botched circum- cisions take place.
Gqobana’s spokesman, Sizwe Kupelo, said the proposals were some of the measures the Eastern Cape government, through the health department, wanted to take in a bid to avoid more deaths.
“Government officials are held responsible for their action or inaction when state monies are involved. Why can’t these headmen, who earn salaries, be held responsible?”
Kupelo said the government was also looking at publishing pictures of infected or amputated penises on pamphlets and posters that would be distributed at schools.
“This is to encourage young boys to know what is at stake and ensure they follow the correct procedures, including pre-medical check-ups, when they are ready to undergo this rite,” he said.
This season’s death toll in the Eastern Cape climbed to 30 and another 293 initiates were hospitalised in facilities all over the province.
In the past four seasons, dating back to June 2011, 129 boys have died.
The deaths happened despite the government putting millions of rands into education and awareness campaigns, as well as monitoring initiation “schools”.
They are just after money. They don’t care about the life of these boys
This year, the department set aside R20-million for programmes relating to initiation and male medical circumcision. The Department of Health, working with the traditional leaders and provincial department of traditional affairs, assigned 47 vehicles and 40 paid volunteers to assess initiates’ progress.
Zingisa Bokwe, the traditional leaders’ head of administration, confirmed that the grouping had received the proposals and would consult the kingdoms before debating the issue.
Injuries to young men have placed an additional financial burden on the province. Kupelo said each of the 293 initiates hospitalised this year had cost the health department more than R1 000 a day. “Some of these boys are so severely hurt that they need up to six months’ hospitalisation,” he said.
Kupelo said most of the injuries and deaths were the result of bad treatment, inhumane conditions — including torture — and illegal schools manned by people seeking to make a profit.
“We have heard reports that some iingcibi [traditional surgeons] make as much as R500 000 a season in these areas. We are calling for traditional leaders and people in those communities to step up and protect these boys. The assaults and torture these boys go through in these areas are not in line with customs. You cannot use shoelaces to tighten penises, or put newspapers on wounds,” he said.
A former traditional nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed greedy initiate schools for most of the problems.
“They are just after money. They don’t care about the lives of these boys. You’ll find that they’ve done circumcisions without all the documents being checked because they just cut for money. They are getting as many boys through as possible,” he said.
Nkosi Bhovulengwe Mtirara, a Thembu chief, said traditional leaders had no legislated powers over their subjects.
“As long as parliament has not passed the Traditional Courts Bill, I cannot say I’m responsible because I don’t have powers to stop families or illegal schools.”
Both Mtirara and Holomisa supported the idea of centralised schools, saying this was the way it had been done before. Mtirara added that these would have to consider that even within kingdoms different tribes had different customs.