By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a keynote address at the opening of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL) in Cape Town on Thursday.
The address marked the official opening of the NHTKL and underscored the integral role of the institution of traditional leadership in advancing constitutional democracy.
The collaboration and partnership between government and traditional leaders is rooted in the promotion of seamless integration of the traditional and democratic governance systems.
The NHTKL comprises traditional leaders who are delegates from the Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders of South Africa and who represent the nine Provinces at national level.
The President appealed directly to traditional leaders to assist the government in a massive vaccination rollout, likening the scale of the operation to the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
The President noted that Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is currently wreaking havoc on farming communities nationwide, with a particularly devastating impact on small-scale producers.
He acknowledged that containing the disease in rural areas remains a significant challenge because cattle are often not confined and move easily across communal lands.
To combat this, government plans to vaccinate the entire national herd of 14 million cattle.
“We want to focus on communal areas and thereafter we will go and focus on the dairy farms, the feedlots, and then the rest of the national herd,” Ramaphosa stated.
Ramaphosa confirmed that he will personally receive the next consignment of five million vaccine doses.
However, he emphasised that the success of the distribution depends on local cooperation and the influence of traditional authorities.
He also said the service delivery challenges in local government are felt particularly hard in rural areas.
“Where roads are poorly maintained, farmers cannot transport their goods to towns. Schoolchildren and the elderly have to travel long distances to get to clinics and schools, costing them money that is already in scarce supply.”
Rural areas are increasingly water-stressed. When the taps are dry, it doesn’t only affect households, but small-scale and communal farmers who rely on water to till the land, grow crops and sustain their livestock.
“The effects of climate change are worst in rural areas, as we saw with the recent floods in parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. Extreme weather such as floods and droughts affect crop yields and the condition of livestock herds.”
“As communities rooted in land and tradition, there is much we should learn from traditional communities as we approach these challenges,” said the President.
He said through the District Development Model, government has sought to align planning and service delivery across the country’s districts and metros.
“We continue to work with traditional leaders to gain an understanding of the conditions in their communities, of their specific needs and priorities, and to undertake development that is responsive to these realities.”
Ramaphosa commended the House on the important work it has embarked on in partnership with government and other stakeholders. These include work with Habitat for Humanity, the Al-Imdaad Foundation, the National Heritage Council, the Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu Foundation, and others.
“May this House continue to be a stabilising force in our democracy and national life. As our traditional leaders you must remain custodians of dignity and cohesion. And may you help lead the renewal of our rural economies, the empowerment of our youth, and the strengthening of our social fabric,” said the President.