Deserve payment for their key role

will be caught mistreating his subjects, traditional people are proud of this institution, seeing it as a representation of tradition, culture and total being.

Since the advent of the democratisation of traditional leadership, only 60% of izinduna are appointed by amakhosi and the other 40% are elected by the citizenry, thus aligning traditional leadership with the democracy in which we have lived since 1994. Yet there are individuals who only wait for an opportunity to criticise.

Izinduna, like their superiors the amakhosi, play a key role in fostering social cohesion among communities. They deal with dispute resolution among families.

Working with the peace officer, the induna will often preside over traditional festivals and customary ceremonies, such as weddings, helping to maintain order and customary legality.

Every week the induna reports to the inkosi of a community, so that he can intervene on matters that escalate beyond the hand of the induna.

These are often matters that need resolution without having to spill over into legal jurisdiction. You could compare cases in the jurisdiction of izinduna to civil matters that are often addressed through court litigation for the affluent communities that have access to this costly legal facility.

As a taxpayer myself, I am comfortable to say izinduna and amakhosi deserve to be paid from our public purse for the strenuous and important work they do for the majority of the populace living in rural, traditional communities, and effectively to the benefit of South African society as a whole since stable communities represent a healthy nation.

And many other monarchs the world over, all symbols of traditional leadership, are paid by Mr and Mrs John Taxpayer.

Of course as a free people, we can hold divergent views on the relevance of monarchies since we live in a world where free speech is protected, but as long as the existence and role of these institutions are enshrined in our constitution, we ought to respect their existence, and for those whose criticism is based on a lack of knowledge, try to learn more about their historical and cultural significance, as well as how they may still be of great relevance today.

Truth be told, the economy of the world and the country is going through trying times. Food prices are rocketing year on year.

Nevertheless, the payment of izinduna cannot be called into question, given the significant service they provide to the public like all other civil servants and all workers in any other sector of society.

It must also be respected that South Africa is a constitutional democracy that respects tradition and culture, and the role and existence of the institution of traditional leadership are provided for in the constitution as well as in the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act of 2003.

Unless the constitution is changed, there is no reason to criticise the decision of the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal because it is an undertaking that cannot be challenged legally, and she has not taken this decision on her own – it is based on the will of the people who have voted her into office.

Mchunu is a deputy director in the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KZN, but he writes in his capacity as a resident in the traditional authority of KwaBiyela.