Contralesa secretary-general Zolani Mkiva told City Press that traditional leaders feel sidelined from the GNU negotiations.
Frennie Shivambu/Gallo images
NEWS
As President Cyril Ramaphosa moves towards finalisation of his Cabinet, traditional leaders have made a call to form part of his national executive.
In an interview, Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA (Contralesa) secretary-general Zolani Mkiva told City Press that traditional leaders “could not be absent from the main table” and no government in the country could be complete without their inclusion and participation.
The organisation had previously raised concerns that its members had been left out of political parties’ negotiations ahead of the formation of the proposed government of national unity (GNU).
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According to Mkiva, in order to ensure that there was “a mainstream of South Africa’s indigenous storage system and that the policy texture of the country was localised, Africanised and totally decolonised”, traditional leaders needed to be part of Cabinet.
He said traditional leaders in society represented almost more than half of the country’s population and were the governors of rural and peri-urban communities, whose people paid full allegiance to the institution of traditional leadership because they were part of it and saw it as an organ of their own power.
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He said it was also important to note that the majority of people who went out to vote in elections came from rural communities.
The rural population in South Africa was recorded as 18 965 399 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources. That figure was a 0.52% decline from 2021, when it had been 19 096 392 and a 0.29% decline from 2019, when it had been 19 196 477.
He said:
That’s why you hear people saying that the ANC’s become a rural party. The ANC as a liberation movement still has a very strong support base in rural communities, because people take the party to be their own. It’s an organisation that was actually established by traditional leaders for the purpose of liberating the African majority, the centre of that being the restoration of land to its rightful owners, with traditional leaders as custodians of that particular land.
What does GNU mean to contralesa?
Mkiva said that Contralesa did not have a problem with the GNU and it was clear that there had been an undesirable outcome of elections which had caused a “hung parliament”, because there had been no outright winner.
“As Contralesa, we think that the drafters of the Constitution didn’t see this blind spot: [the possibility] that, in the new dispensation, there’d be an impasse like the current one, to the extent that there’d be no constitutional provision or instrument that could be invoked to solve the problem,” he said.
“I guess that talks about the GNU and coalitions are one of those things which we’re now compelled to [accept] in order to ensure that there’s government and stability in the country.
“As Contralesa, we don’t want a situation of making a government purely for the sake of making a government, resulting in two bulls being put into the same kraal. That’s not going to work.”
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In a statement, the ANC revealed that it had met with Contralesa leaders on Monday, in line with the GNU’s statement of intent principle, aimed at “stabilising local government, effective cooperative governance, the assignment of appropriate responsibilities to different spheres of government and review of the role of traditional leadership in the governance framework”.
In discussions with Contralesa, the ANC reaffirmed that the organisation was an important stakeholder which had been an integral part of the work of the ANC and society at large. It also recommitted itself to working with traditional leaders.
The statement of intent, which was signed by 10 political parties, commits the GNU parties to an all-inclusive national dialogue process with all sectors of society, aimed at developing a national social compact which enables the country to meet the aspirations of the national development plan.
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“In preparation for the national dialogue, we’ll work with Contralesa in a coordinated manner in all provinces on inputs regarding the role of traditional leaders in the GNU,” said the ANC.
What are contralesa’s expectations from the GNU
Mkiva said that what Contralesa needed to be prioritised in the programme of government was the establishment of infrastructure.
He said it was important that there be infrastructural investments, especially in rural areas, in order to put them on an equal footing with urban areas in terms of road networks and the provision of running water to homes.
Mkiva said:
The roads must be tarred and the bridges must be in a state of efficacy. We must build bridges and connect communities. We want government to focus on creating smart villages and villages of hope Once we have that infrastructure, even in rural communities, which actually account for most of the land that’s communal, then we’ll attract investors to come and establish industries.
He said that, in other areas, there were companies interested in improving rural areas, which installed wind farms, as they were easy to bring in.
“However, if we don’t have a proper road network, then we’ll be unable to attract investors that can establish industry and factories, because those products would need to be transported. If there’s no [usable] road to do that, it’s not going to work,” he said.
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“Also, if the bulk water infrastructure isn’t working efficiently, we’ll have a problem. Like the quality of electricity in the rural areas, it needs to be firmed up to allow investors to come and establish factories.”
Mkiva added that Contralesa also expected a logical way of land restoration in South Africa.
