By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, flanked by key ministers, engaged in critical discussions with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC and the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial House of Traditional and Koi-San Leadership.
The discussions are aimed at fostering development, tackling infrastructure challenges, and marks a significant step towards bridging the gap between government initiatives and community needs.
“During the interaction, the President and the Ministers briefed the business community on various initiatives that are currently underway in assisting eThekwini and the province through the various interventions led by the national government.”
A Presidential eThekwini Working Group has also been set up.
“To accelerate the speedy resolution of issues impacting the eThekwini metro, Ramaphosa has set up the Presidential eThekwini Working Group that will be made up of Ministers in the affected portfolios, working alongside the metro and business. The working group will present their progress reports to the President regularly,” the presidency statement read.
The President also met with the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial House of Traditional and Koi-San Leadership to address a variety of issues and “foster closer relations between government and institutions of traditional leadership”.
“Among the issues addressed by the President was the finalisation of the Traditional Leaders Handbook which contains all the support that will be provided to Amakhosi by the government. With KZN having grappled with the killing of Amakhosi, the President committed that the government was looking into the matter to decide on the best solution.
“Ramaphosa pleaded with Amakhosi to collaborate with government to fight social ills, build rural economies and assist in facilitating development such as building bridges, roads and educational programmes.”
“With general elections on the horizons, Ramaphosa also appealed to Amakhosi to be tolerant to all political parties by allowing campaigning in their communities without fear and intimidation. He also encouraged political parties to respect traditional leaders as they carry on with their campaigns,” the Presidency said.
Ramaphosa assured the traditional leaders that other issues related to land, rural development and agriculture will also be addressed.