"Married men live longer than single men, but, married men are a lot more willing to die" once remarked an anonymous writer.
One is tempted to touch on this subject over this weekend as we all celebrate the beauty, honour and dignity that our African women have exhibited for the entire global village to witness during the second millenium.
However, a pertinent question arises whether be they young, old or mature have the members of 'fairer sex' truly found happiness in their personal lives?
One eminent scholar wrote "No Woman-especially one who's succesful and independent- wants to be thought/seen of as desperate for love.
But, if you're 30 years and over, and have a graveyard of failed relationships behind you, you should by now understand; 'Love isn't Easy' ".
'LadyFriends', you're implored to read "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man" by Steve Harvey.
Harvey's advise is the following: 'only get involved with a man with the qualities you are looking for, suss out his intentions with vigorous, but subtle, interrogation before falling in love, wait at least 90 days before sleeping with him; and when you are comfortable with the fact that he can handle your cherups and is doing the three 'Ps' (i.e Protecting, Providing and Professing) marry him.
On page 201, Harvey gives a trick to every single woman about how to get that "Will you M...?"
It is not to ask him to marry you {Men are hunters and they like the chase}. You first need to tell him what he must do with you once he's caught you".
Harvey also got tips for the 'Woman who has it all' ; the drop-top BMW X5, Ferrari,Cayenne, the BEE tenders, the expensive jewelery and the proud tenant of that upmarket bond in the leafy surburb but goes to an empty home alone daily.
"You are not alone because men are afraid of your independence and wealth. You're alone because you do not know how to act like a well-nurtured girl" he cautions.
Latsly, but not least, there's also that life-enhancing book penned by Dr Connel Cowan and Dr Melvyn Kinder which outlines the man's behaviour in relationships.
Fellow sisters, or rather single women, page through the timeless "Women Men Love, Women Men Leave" whereby one submits it will benefit all those women that spend tremendous amount of their precious time over-analysing the 'man-in-love' motives, or say 'their hidden agenda' if ever one exists.
Monday, August 10, 2009
AMAKHOSI & CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN SA
DAILY NEWS, 23 October 2000
AMAKHOSI: THE MODERN AND TRADITIONAL MUST COMBINE
S0 simple and so basic is purpose of this argument that its very first quote must serve as a warning about ubukhosi from our north. During the reconstruction and constitutional development of Zambia, Mr Kenneth Kaunda had this to say: "My support for chiefs is well known, and I reaffirm that it will be the intention of my government to uphold the position of chiefs in our country and to consult them and seek their advice on all matters affecting their people and themselves."
Before delving deeper into my argument, I deem it fit to declare my credentials at this stage. This will help illuminate the rationale that one can owe allegiance to traditional principles, values, etc, yet not be construed as a conservative.
I regard myself at heart as a truly modern-day democrat.
Having personally made written comments to the Draft Discussion Document towards a White Paper on Traditional Leadership, it really pains me to witness that the Government is again on a collision course with hundreds of KwaZulu-Natal amakhosi over the coming local government elections.
This scenario follows the demarcation of boundaries by the Municipal Demarcation Board. There is even talk that people in rural/traditional areas will not participate in the local government elections at the end of the year.
While one can never espouse the idea that the chiefs should mount a massive show of force nationwide as a means of pressuring the Government to give amakhosi more powers, our Bill of Rights as citizens looks threatened.
Having had time to study the Government's response to the submissions by traditional leaders on their roles, powers and functions signed by the president on August 28, this subject becomes quite mind-boggling.
ONE WOULD have dismissed this democratically-elected Government as doing exactly what the colonial and apartheid regimes did to traditional leaders, reducing the amakhosi to ordinary people.
Surprisingly to my understanding, the opposite is true. The Government proposals state categorically that traditional leaders will, in line with the relevant law, continue to discharge the authority currently vested in them.
The principles of co-operative governance will continue to guide the role of traditional leaders in matters of governance and ensure
[Photo]
"The existing consttutionalframework that . provides for a dual system of the retention of traditional leadership is the best innovation of our hard-won democracy"
that they are accorded an appropriate role within the inter-governmental relations structures.
It is precisely at this juncture that the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) should be discharging its mandate as the Government communications agency.
The causes of uncertainty conflict and polarisation around the local government elections in rural areas, which touches on the delimitation of wards and where traditional authority areas have been sub divided, must be placed entirely at the door of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).
FAIR ENOUGH, the Government proposals leave an option for the MDB to reassess the situation.
The White Paper, as an on-going process, must not remove ubukhosi (chieftaincy) from where it historically and structurally resides.
This viewpoint has prompted Inkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana, in Contralesa's presentation, to reiterate that, contrary to popular belief, traditional leadership was and still is the most democratic institution forming a solid foundation for stability in all traditional communities.
As we chart the way forth as tried and tested democrats, we must not lose sight in trying to remedy the distortions allocated to traditional leaders by colonial and apartheid eras. We must address the challenges facing the rural communities in terms of social communalism in the shared ownership of land.
The traditional system of government is quite compatible with the extension of a constitutional democracy to the rural communities.
Contemporary constitutional developments dictate democratically-elected government representatives in governance, and yet our African democracy militates for a transformed traditional ruling system.
As I have pointed cut in the past, traditional leaders and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus, rather than the actual decision-makers.
The wider civil society needs education about the simultaneous role to be played by both traditional leaders and the elected local councillors.
For any meaningful development to take place in rural areas, it is imperative that the Government embarks on a training programme to provide leadership or managerial skills to the amakhosi.
The existing constitutional framework that provides for a dual system of the retention of tradi-tional leadership, while at the same time allowing local communities to elect their public representatives, is the best innovation of our hard-won democracy
□ Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is a KwaZulu-Natal provincial administrator for the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa and writes in his personal capacity.
-------------------------------------------&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-----------------------
DAILY NEWS ,21 June 2000
[Photo] NO DEMOCRACY WITHOUT OUR AFRICAN ROOTS
It is essential that traditional leadership becomes part of the overall formula of development in our country, writes Nkonzo Mqadi.
IN HIS clairvoyant article, "Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model", Dankwat A Rustow questioned the conflation of the primary causes and sustaining conditions of democracy and democratisation.
With South Africa's "so-called 1994 miracle" now approaching a decade down the line, is anyone really committed to the consolidation of our democracy?
Are the factors that initiated our democratisation the same as those that maintain a democracy once established.
My somewhat different curiosity about our democracy stems from the scholarly debate by thinkers from Locke to Tocqueville, up to the fevered brain of Jean Jacques Rousseau, as they give devergent answers about the consolidation of democracy Nearly all the authors ask the same sort of question and support their answers with the same sort of evidence. What conditions'make democracy possible and what conditions make it thrive? The question is not how a democratic system cctaies into existence: rather, it is how'a democracy assumed to be already in existence, can best preserve or enhance its health and stability These eminent thinkers connect stable democracy with certain economic and social background conditions, such as high per capita income, widespread literacy and prevalent urban residence. But in our South African context, I will argue democracy must be combined with a strong local government, particularly in the rural areas falling under amakhosi rule, with a vibrant multiparty system, with a vigorous tradition of civil rights, and with a sustainable culture of the freedom of expression by the government leaders, mass media personnel and the wider civil society.
WITH THE country having taken great strides ha terms of establishing social, economic and civil liberties, through the numerous legislation enacted for the final phase of our consolidation of democracy (ie 2000 municipal local government elections) our democracy should be stable, if not perfect, by now.
Could the amakhosi vs Government quagmire be resolved once and for all? That will help ingrain to every South African, irrespective of their geographical location, a uniform democratic behaviour, thoughts, principles and values for a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.
As I have pointed out in the past, the traditional leaders and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus, rather than the actual decision-makers.
As a country; the message is sound and clear: we must forget
"We need the best of both worlds and to draw on the royal wisdom and experience that is closely bound to the very communities we hope to transform".
Njongonkulu Ndungane
about any consolidation to a fully-matured democracy, for there can be no African democracy which is not structured in our indigenous African roots.
The South African political leadership will always bear gratitude in their handling of our ongoing transition to democracy u Having acknowledged the tragedy and horrors of the black-on-black conflict, our leadership must realise that the country requires a visible and constant co-operation between the previously warring factions.
The South African civic society is" very committed to developing a truly modern and yet truly African state. We need to mix modernity with our traditions, and recognise the role which each can bring to the consolidation of our democracy Having argued authoritatively before, ubukhosi (chieftaincy) must not be removed from where it historically and structurally resides. The primary and dominant location and fount of traditional Africa is the African"village, the rural areas or the countryside.
ONE SCHOLAR, WEB du Bois, identified the African village as one of Africa's precious gifts to humanity I quote: "In the African village we bred religion, industry, government, education and art, and these were bred as integral inter-related things"
(WEB du Bois, The WEB du Bois Reader, 1966, p. 649).
Other civilisations boast of precious knowledge and culture that developed in the cities. But in the continent, all these gifts were moulded and developed in the African village.
The major challenge to the political leadership is now to revitalise and turn such civilisation and culture into a springboard for new development and growth.
Royalty and elected leaders should be working together against the many challenges facing our people. In rural areas, this is the mighty challenge before traditional leaders.
Contrary to the threats of halting material service delivery to their communities, our democracy demands a strong local government throughout South Africa.
It is essential that traditional leadership becomes part of the overall formula of development in our country.
The principles of cooperative governance must continue to guide the role of traditional leaders, so as to avoid their clashing with those of the newly-established municipalities.
Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane recently warned our political leadership: "... as we embrace the best Eurocentric systems of government, we are in dire danger of ignoring our own proud heritage.We need the best of both worlds and to draw on the royal wisdom and experience that is closely bound to the very communities we hope to transform."
These rumblings about the role of the traditional leaders must be put clearly into perceptive. The existing constitutional framework that provides for a dual system of the retention of traditional leadership working hand-in-hand with elected councillors, is the',best innovation of our hard-won democracy.
Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is a Durban-based freelance journalist. [Photo]
----------------------------------&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-------------------------------
DAILY NEWS, 04 September 2000
DON'T STRIP AMAKHOSI OF TOO MANY POWERS
It is vital that the role of traditional leaders in local government is retained as part of the contemporary constitutional democratic framework, argues Nkonzo Mqadi.
WE MUST restructure the framework of government for traditional leaders and local, elected government to develop a harmonious working relationship.
Traditional leadership raises issues that reflect the social complexities of South Africa: the existence of different nations, a plurality of systems, a plurality of models of societal organisation, the diversity in land tenure systems, etc.
The Municipal Demarcation Board has touched on the sensitive issue of land. Traditional issues are central to traditional leadership. It is also central to the cultural and social equilibria of the new South Africa.
The shared ownership of land is the basis of social communalism, the culture of Uburtu and the sense of social solidarity.
Traditional leadership, as the earliest form of societal organisation, represents the institution of government in Africa, and the world at large.
In contemporary politics, how can this concept be compatible to our so-called "African Democracy"?
As we unravel the role and relationship between traditional, leaders and elected local government, we must not forget that there are laws that established a system of local government that placed traditional leaders at the centre of a bureaucratic system of governance. There must be an open, consultative and accessible arena for participation at grassroots level.
Draft discussion towards the White Paper's proposal of a co-operative model of rural local government, whereby elected local government representatives in areas falling under traditional leadership act in concert with the traditional leaders, must be viewed as the best method of constitutional democracy.
Focus is needed on the developmental need of communities through self-government, the training of the elected local government representatives and the re-orientation or workshopping of amakhosi to be fully conversant with the new democratic order.
There is a need for the creation of a code that will allow the conduct of the previously antagonistic structures to work for the total good.
AS A PEOPLE, we must address the improvement of service delivery with a specific focus on areas where no services have been established, with direct involvement of communities in the decision-making process at local level.
This could be realised through a third-tier level of governance. The Municipal Structures Act categorically states that the delimitation of wards must guard against the fragmentation of rural communities. While the Municipal Demarcation Board argues that there was broad consultation around the demarcation and the restructuring process, at grassroots level amakhosi feel the Government is stripping them of virtually all their powers.
From time immemorial, traditional rule was the most democratic rule in Africa. In rural areas the supreme governing body was, and still is, a gathering of the community in a forum known as an imbizo.
During these gatherings, the community discussed all matters pertaining to their well-being under the chairmanship of an inkosi. Traditional leadership's administrative capacity as an engine of governance is seen during the allocation of land. A standard procedure is followed (people point out the land they want, they are referred to an induna, the induna convenes a public meeting of all residents of feat particular ward or locality There the person introduces him or herself and is given the plot to utilise for his/her benefit. The induna then brings fee person to the inkosi for approval).
In defining the locality of traditional leadership, fee White Paper must not remove the ubukhosi (chieftainship) from where it historically and structurally resides.
TRADITIONAL LEADERS and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus rather than fee actual decision-makers. The wider civil society needs education about fee simultaneous role to be played by both traditional leaders and elected local councillors.
For any meaningful development to take place in rural areas, it is imperative that the Government embarks on training programmes to provide leadership or managerial skills. We must guard against building a uniform grand society shaped in fee Westernised fashion.
We need to create a formula of a truly modern, yet truly African, state. The role and functions of statutory bodies representing traditional leaders in advising fee Government on matters affecting traditional leadership, traditional communities and customary law must not be radically changed, but must be brought in line with the prevailing political scene. As local government takes some powers from traditional leadership, fee White Paper must ascertain feat amakhosi do not feel threatened.
As custodians of their people, amakhosi are entrusted wife fee duty of looking at fee welfare of fee people, by providing land, protection, and acting as a conflict-resolution mechanism among their subjects. When a rural development budget is worked out, the local, elected government, amakhosi and the council of elders must sit and engage in fee process. Traditional leadership and elected local councillors must be part and parcel-of fee whole exercise.
This new model of co-operative governance must be structured in a manner in which councillors and amakhosi do not feel threatened.
It is my view that a traditional leader is an integral part of fee community and, as such, can never be wished away. It is physically impossible to separate fee inkosi from the people. A traditional leader is the leader of fee people and should, at all times act in consultation with his/her subjects, the people.
Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is writing in his personal capacity as a stakeholder in South Africa's constitutional development.
-----------------------------------""""""""------------------------------------------
AMAKHOSI: THE MODERN AND TRADITIONAL MUST COMBINE
S0 simple and so basic is purpose of this argument that its very first quote must serve as a warning about ubukhosi from our north. During the reconstruction and constitutional development of Zambia, Mr Kenneth Kaunda had this to say: "My support for chiefs is well known, and I reaffirm that it will be the intention of my government to uphold the position of chiefs in our country and to consult them and seek their advice on all matters affecting their people and themselves."
Before delving deeper into my argument, I deem it fit to declare my credentials at this stage. This will help illuminate the rationale that one can owe allegiance to traditional principles, values, etc, yet not be construed as a conservative.
I regard myself at heart as a truly modern-day democrat.
Having personally made written comments to the Draft Discussion Document towards a White Paper on Traditional Leadership, it really pains me to witness that the Government is again on a collision course with hundreds of KwaZulu-Natal amakhosi over the coming local government elections.
This scenario follows the demarcation of boundaries by the Municipal Demarcation Board. There is even talk that people in rural/traditional areas will not participate in the local government elections at the end of the year.
While one can never espouse the idea that the chiefs should mount a massive show of force nationwide as a means of pressuring the Government to give amakhosi more powers, our Bill of Rights as citizens looks threatened.
Having had time to study the Government's response to the submissions by traditional leaders on their roles, powers and functions signed by the president on August 28, this subject becomes quite mind-boggling.
ONE WOULD have dismissed this democratically-elected Government as doing exactly what the colonial and apartheid regimes did to traditional leaders, reducing the amakhosi to ordinary people.
Surprisingly to my understanding, the opposite is true. The Government proposals state categorically that traditional leaders will, in line with the relevant law, continue to discharge the authority currently vested in them.
The principles of co-operative governance will continue to guide the role of traditional leaders in matters of governance and ensure
[Photo]
"The existing consttutionalframework that . provides for a dual system of the retention of traditional leadership is the best innovation of our hard-won democracy"
that they are accorded an appropriate role within the inter-governmental relations structures.
It is precisely at this juncture that the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) should be discharging its mandate as the Government communications agency.
The causes of uncertainty conflict and polarisation around the local government elections in rural areas, which touches on the delimitation of wards and where traditional authority areas have been sub divided, must be placed entirely at the door of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).
FAIR ENOUGH, the Government proposals leave an option for the MDB to reassess the situation.
The White Paper, as an on-going process, must not remove ubukhosi (chieftaincy) from where it historically and structurally resides.
This viewpoint has prompted Inkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana, in Contralesa's presentation, to reiterate that, contrary to popular belief, traditional leadership was and still is the most democratic institution forming a solid foundation for stability in all traditional communities.
As we chart the way forth as tried and tested democrats, we must not lose sight in trying to remedy the distortions allocated to traditional leaders by colonial and apartheid eras. We must address the challenges facing the rural communities in terms of social communalism in the shared ownership of land.
The traditional system of government is quite compatible with the extension of a constitutional democracy to the rural communities.
Contemporary constitutional developments dictate democratically-elected government representatives in governance, and yet our African democracy militates for a transformed traditional ruling system.
As I have pointed cut in the past, traditional leaders and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus, rather than the actual decision-makers.
The wider civil society needs education about the simultaneous role to be played by both traditional leaders and the elected local councillors.
For any meaningful development to take place in rural areas, it is imperative that the Government embarks on a training programme to provide leadership or managerial skills to the amakhosi.
The existing constitutional framework that provides for a dual system of the retention of tradi-tional leadership, while at the same time allowing local communities to elect their public representatives, is the best innovation of our hard-won democracy
□ Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is a KwaZulu-Natal provincial administrator for the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa and writes in his personal capacity.
-------------------------------------------&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-----------------------
DAILY NEWS ,21 June 2000
[Photo] NO DEMOCRACY WITHOUT OUR AFRICAN ROOTS
It is essential that traditional leadership becomes part of the overall formula of development in our country, writes Nkonzo Mqadi.
IN HIS clairvoyant article, "Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model", Dankwat A Rustow questioned the conflation of the primary causes and sustaining conditions of democracy and democratisation.
With South Africa's "so-called 1994 miracle" now approaching a decade down the line, is anyone really committed to the consolidation of our democracy?
Are the factors that initiated our democratisation the same as those that maintain a democracy once established.
My somewhat different curiosity about our democracy stems from the scholarly debate by thinkers from Locke to Tocqueville, up to the fevered brain of Jean Jacques Rousseau, as they give devergent answers about the consolidation of democracy Nearly all the authors ask the same sort of question and support their answers with the same sort of evidence. What conditions'make democracy possible and what conditions make it thrive? The question is not how a democratic system cctaies into existence: rather, it is how'a democracy assumed to be already in existence, can best preserve or enhance its health and stability These eminent thinkers connect stable democracy with certain economic and social background conditions, such as high per capita income, widespread literacy and prevalent urban residence. But in our South African context, I will argue democracy must be combined with a strong local government, particularly in the rural areas falling under amakhosi rule, with a vibrant multiparty system, with a vigorous tradition of civil rights, and with a sustainable culture of the freedom of expression by the government leaders, mass media personnel and the wider civil society.
WITH THE country having taken great strides ha terms of establishing social, economic and civil liberties, through the numerous legislation enacted for the final phase of our consolidation of democracy (ie 2000 municipal local government elections) our democracy should be stable, if not perfect, by now.
Could the amakhosi vs Government quagmire be resolved once and for all? That will help ingrain to every South African, irrespective of their geographical location, a uniform democratic behaviour, thoughts, principles and values for a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.
As I have pointed out in the past, the traditional leaders and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus, rather than the actual decision-makers.
As a country; the message is sound and clear: we must forget
"We need the best of both worlds and to draw on the royal wisdom and experience that is closely bound to the very communities we hope to transform".
Njongonkulu Ndungane
about any consolidation to a fully-matured democracy, for there can be no African democracy which is not structured in our indigenous African roots.
The South African political leadership will always bear gratitude in their handling of our ongoing transition to democracy u Having acknowledged the tragedy and horrors of the black-on-black conflict, our leadership must realise that the country requires a visible and constant co-operation between the previously warring factions.
The South African civic society is" very committed to developing a truly modern and yet truly African state. We need to mix modernity with our traditions, and recognise the role which each can bring to the consolidation of our democracy Having argued authoritatively before, ubukhosi (chieftaincy) must not be removed from where it historically and structurally resides. The primary and dominant location and fount of traditional Africa is the African"village, the rural areas or the countryside.
ONE SCHOLAR, WEB du Bois, identified the African village as one of Africa's precious gifts to humanity I quote: "In the African village we bred religion, industry, government, education and art, and these were bred as integral inter-related things"
(WEB du Bois, The WEB du Bois Reader, 1966, p. 649).
Other civilisations boast of precious knowledge and culture that developed in the cities. But in the continent, all these gifts were moulded and developed in the African village.
The major challenge to the political leadership is now to revitalise and turn such civilisation and culture into a springboard for new development and growth.
Royalty and elected leaders should be working together against the many challenges facing our people. In rural areas, this is the mighty challenge before traditional leaders.
Contrary to the threats of halting material service delivery to their communities, our democracy demands a strong local government throughout South Africa.
It is essential that traditional leadership becomes part of the overall formula of development in our country.
The principles of cooperative governance must continue to guide the role of traditional leaders, so as to avoid their clashing with those of the newly-established municipalities.
Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane recently warned our political leadership: "... as we embrace the best Eurocentric systems of government, we are in dire danger of ignoring our own proud heritage.We need the best of both worlds and to draw on the royal wisdom and experience that is closely bound to the very communities we hope to transform."
These rumblings about the role of the traditional leaders must be put clearly into perceptive. The existing constitutional framework that provides for a dual system of the retention of traditional leadership working hand-in-hand with elected councillors, is the',best innovation of our hard-won democracy.
Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is a Durban-based freelance journalist. [Photo]
----------------------------------&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-------------------------------
DAILY NEWS, 04 September 2000
DON'T STRIP AMAKHOSI OF TOO MANY POWERS
It is vital that the role of traditional leaders in local government is retained as part of the contemporary constitutional democratic framework, argues Nkonzo Mqadi.
WE MUST restructure the framework of government for traditional leaders and local, elected government to develop a harmonious working relationship.
Traditional leadership raises issues that reflect the social complexities of South Africa: the existence of different nations, a plurality of systems, a plurality of models of societal organisation, the diversity in land tenure systems, etc.
The Municipal Demarcation Board has touched on the sensitive issue of land. Traditional issues are central to traditional leadership. It is also central to the cultural and social equilibria of the new South Africa.
The shared ownership of land is the basis of social communalism, the culture of Uburtu and the sense of social solidarity.
Traditional leadership, as the earliest form of societal organisation, represents the institution of government in Africa, and the world at large.
In contemporary politics, how can this concept be compatible to our so-called "African Democracy"?
As we unravel the role and relationship between traditional, leaders and elected local government, we must not forget that there are laws that established a system of local government that placed traditional leaders at the centre of a bureaucratic system of governance. There must be an open, consultative and accessible arena for participation at grassroots level.
Draft discussion towards the White Paper's proposal of a co-operative model of rural local government, whereby elected local government representatives in areas falling under traditional leadership act in concert with the traditional leaders, must be viewed as the best method of constitutional democracy.
Focus is needed on the developmental need of communities through self-government, the training of the elected local government representatives and the re-orientation or workshopping of amakhosi to be fully conversant with the new democratic order.
There is a need for the creation of a code that will allow the conduct of the previously antagonistic structures to work for the total good.
AS A PEOPLE, we must address the improvement of service delivery with a specific focus on areas where no services have been established, with direct involvement of communities in the decision-making process at local level.
This could be realised through a third-tier level of governance. The Municipal Structures Act categorically states that the delimitation of wards must guard against the fragmentation of rural communities. While the Municipal Demarcation Board argues that there was broad consultation around the demarcation and the restructuring process, at grassroots level amakhosi feel the Government is stripping them of virtually all their powers.
From time immemorial, traditional rule was the most democratic rule in Africa. In rural areas the supreme governing body was, and still is, a gathering of the community in a forum known as an imbizo.
During these gatherings, the community discussed all matters pertaining to their well-being under the chairmanship of an inkosi. Traditional leadership's administrative capacity as an engine of governance is seen during the allocation of land. A standard procedure is followed (people point out the land they want, they are referred to an induna, the induna convenes a public meeting of all residents of feat particular ward or locality There the person introduces him or herself and is given the plot to utilise for his/her benefit. The induna then brings fee person to the inkosi for approval).
In defining the locality of traditional leadership, fee White Paper must not remove the ubukhosi (chieftainship) from where it historically and structurally resides.
TRADITIONAL LEADERS and their councils of elders are regarded as catalysts of community consensus rather than fee actual decision-makers. The wider civil society needs education about fee simultaneous role to be played by both traditional leaders and elected local councillors.
For any meaningful development to take place in rural areas, it is imperative that the Government embarks on training programmes to provide leadership or managerial skills. We must guard against building a uniform grand society shaped in fee Westernised fashion.
We need to create a formula of a truly modern, yet truly African, state. The role and functions of statutory bodies representing traditional leaders in advising fee Government on matters affecting traditional leadership, traditional communities and customary law must not be radically changed, but must be brought in line with the prevailing political scene. As local government takes some powers from traditional leadership, fee White Paper must ascertain feat amakhosi do not feel threatened.
As custodians of their people, amakhosi are entrusted wife fee duty of looking at fee welfare of fee people, by providing land, protection, and acting as a conflict-resolution mechanism among their subjects. When a rural development budget is worked out, the local, elected government, amakhosi and the council of elders must sit and engage in fee process. Traditional leadership and elected local councillors must be part and parcel-of fee whole exercise.
This new model of co-operative governance must be structured in a manner in which councillors and amakhosi do not feel threatened.
It is my view that a traditional leader is an integral part of fee community and, as such, can never be wished away. It is physically impossible to separate fee inkosi from the people. A traditional leader is the leader of fee people and should, at all times act in consultation with his/her subjects, the people.
Mr Nkonzo Mqadi is writing in his personal capacity as a stakeholder in South Africa's constitutional development.
-----------------------------------""""""""------------------------------------------
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