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As in most African countries, the consolidation of the powers on a national basis has eroded the powers of traditional leaders. This has accelerated with the establishment of local, democratically elected institutions in 1994. Thereafter, there has been felt an urgent need to redefine the powers of traditional leaders within the context of democracy. Under these circumcisions, it has become unclear whether the establishment of municipalities in traditional authority areas would diminish the powers of traditional leaders. The upcoming elections have actualized the issue, making up the background for the establishment of the Joint Committee in September. The terms of reference of the committee were set to be: 1.Will the establishment of new municipalities, immediately after the elections, result in powers of traditional leaders being diminished in any way? If so, in what way? 2. If the powers of traditional leaders will be diminished, what should be done to remedy the situation? At the meeting yesterday, the committee under the joint chairmanship of the Chairman of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi M.B.Mzimela and the Director-General of the Department of Provincial and Local Government, Mr. Zam Titus, presented an overview on their deliberations over the past week and the proposals made. The committee reported agreement on the fact that the powers of traditional leaders had been diminished since 1994 and the need to address this. The report proposes a number of different options to deal with the question of erosion of powers of Traditional Leaders. President Mbeki indicated that he would have preferred that the committee made a specific proposal to address the problem in the interim, pending a final resolution in a longer-term process. The president indicated that this process could hopefully be in the first part of next year. He further indicated that the announcement of the election date could not be delayed any further. Mbeki thanked the committee for the report, saying that it would assist him in making a determination. He indicated that he would apply his mind to the various proposals in the report and arrive at a determination to deal with the issue on an interim basis. Further, the president assured the representatives present that the government was committed to finalise the issue by finding a long-term solution to the issue of the erosion of powers of traditional leaders within the context of our democracy. Traditional Leaders also expressed their appreciation of the commitment of president Mbeki to this process, in recognition of the fact that the country was waiting for the announcement of the local government election date. The South African government has been working continuously on the issue of the powers of traditional leaders for years. Last year, Minister Moosa ensured that "the challenge of our new democracy was to ensure that our traditional institutions are respected and given the necessary profile and role in the building of a new era." On this background, a Council of Traditional Leaders was established. Source:
South African Govt. sources
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