Chairperson, I think this debate needs to be stimulated a little bit so that hon members can listen to each other.
Mutshamaxitulu, Yindlu leyo hlonipheka, Holobye, Xandla xa Holobye, vaMEC, timeyara loko ti ri kona, tihosi hinkwato ta tiko rerhu ra Afrika-Dzonga, mutshamaxitulu wa yindlu ya tihosi na vatshamaswitulu va tindlu ta tihosi eka swifundzankulu swa tiko rerhu, ndzi rhandza ku mi losa eka ndzhenga wa namuntlha. Ndzi lava ku kongomisa mbulavulo wa mina swinene eka ndzawulo leyi nga yona yi tirhaka ku seketela mimfumoxikaya, mimfumoswivongo ya vukosi na tihosi ta tiko. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, honourable House, Minister, Deputy Minister, MECs, mayors, if any, all the chiefs of our country South Africa, chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders and chairpersons of the House of Traditional Leaders from the different provinces of our country, I want to salute you all this afternoon. I want to focus my debate on the Ministry that supports local governments, tribal authorities and chiefs.]
Hon Chairperson, the establishment of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is a real indication of government's commitment to affirm traditional affairs and the role of traditional leaders in their communities. A key mandate of this department is, among others, to ensure that traditional leaders work co-operatively with the three spheres of government, and the local councillors in particular.
Hon Minister, we all know that, since 2009, Traditional Affairs became an independent department from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta. However, we have not yet heard of any separate Budget Vote and its new Minister. Maybe the National Treasury has not yet completed the process, or the President has not yet decided to appoint a Minister at this point in time. However, if this process could be finalised sooner or later, we would appreciate it. The institutions of traditional leadership and customary law are given due recognition by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in Chapter 12 and in Schedule 4.
We would also like to commend the ANC-led government, in consultation with various relevant stakeholders within our broader society, for having promulgated so many pieces of legislation and policies to support traditional leadership and institutions. Here I refer to legislation like the ones on traditional affairs, institutional support and co-ordination, the National House of Traditional Leaders Act, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act, and many more. There is also other legislation. Section 81 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act of 1997, for example, provides for the representation of traditional leaders in municipal councils.
In our budget review and recommendation report on traditional leadership and institutions, we recommended that the department should provide traditional institutions with the necessary tools of trade that will enable those institutions to provide services to our communities. We also made a recommendation that the national Traditional Affairs Bill be fast-tracked, as it will, among other things, address the provincial disparities in the treatment of traditional leaders.
It is surprising that on matters that affect traditional leadership and its institutions, especially when they could become a Bill, everybody rises up. However, it is not so surprising, because most of our people do not understand this kind of institution. Therefore, everybody talks about the constitutionality of the matters thereof. However, they don't come out clearly about which matters need to be constitutionalised. All those things need to be looked into before the time.
This was done in order to strengthen the institutional support of these traditional affairs institutions and to further enhance the development of appropriate policies, norms and standards, systems and the regulatory framework governing traditional leadership and institutions as entrenched in our Constitution. In other words, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has an obligation to provide numerous forms of support to the institution.
We are aware that the mission of this department is, among other things, to integrate traditional affairs for sustainable development and social cohesion, and to promote, protect and preserve cultural heritage and our culture in all its diversity.
Hon Minister, we highly appreciate your department giving support to the House of Traditional Leaders in conducting an induction of members of the house. We also commend the department for developing the traditional leadership empowerment programme to implement the recommendation of the report on the state of governance of traditional leadership structures.
As much as we appreciate the department for giving financial and administrative support, we have realised that the department is not doing enough in the reconstitution of the long-awaited processes of traditional councils. It is long overdue. We can argue that if you really mean business, hon Minister and the Director-General, DG, of the Department of Traditional Affairs in supporting traditional institutions to exercise their powers and perform their duties as expected, you should definitely first consider constituting those traditional councils.
We expect this department, with great pride, to provide human resources, and technical and professional support to traditional institutions for activities on celebrations of cultural events, especially at local level.
We all know that this year marks the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913, which had a very bad and negative impact on all African people - what a notorious Act it was! In his state of the nation address and in his official opening of the House of Traditional Leaders this year, President Jacob Zuma said, and I quote:
This year, 2013, marks the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913 which, since its promulgation and commencement on 19 June 1913, turned our African people into wanderers, labourers who felt rejected in their own land.
Misava manana wa hina. Inkomu. [Mother Earth. Thank you.] [Applause.]