Hon temporary Chairperson, hon chairperson of the portfolio committee and its members, hon Minister Pravin Gordhan, hon Deputy Minister Andries Nel, other hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, MECs, mayors and councillors, leadership of the Houses of Traditional Leaders present here, leaders of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa and the SA Local Government Association, Director- General of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Director-General of the Department of Traditional Affairs, chairpersons of the Cogta public entities, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow South Africans, "Local government is everybody's business - be part of it!" This is a slogan taken from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and we should make it work.
We present this budget today as we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of freedom and democracy, and at the start of the fifth administration, in which the President announced that we would now have a Deputy Minister with a special focus on traditional affairs. That shows how seriously the ANC- led government is taking this matter.
His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma said, and I quote:
Local government is the heart of the lives of the people of South Africa. It is where we get the water we drink, the electricity we use, the roads we drive in, the parks that our children use to play, and is about building healthy living communities. In the narrative of a long story by John Lennon he speaks of what an ideal community - or municipality - could be. I quote what he says further:
You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one
Together we can bring this city and the surrounding areas closer to our ideal vision for them. But in order to build a place that better suits the needs of everybody, we need everyone's voice and everyone's help. So stand up! [Applause.]
Going forward, we must make municipalities functional and ensure that, by doing the right things efficiently and diligently, responding to service delivery, and working with our people in partnership, they do not compromise the basket of services that will take us to having the ideal community or municipality.
The district municipality and local municipalities have a part to play in bringing the role of traditional leaders into play and assisting us with attaining our national developmental vision, as aspired to in the National Development Plan, in both the rural and local municipalities.
This brings us to the mandate of Traditional Affairs. Firstly, the department was established to promote and to protect the cultural, religious and linguistic rights of communities, as supported by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.
Secondly, the department has established the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, which is occupied with attending to the claims and disputes that were lodged up to August 2010. To date, about 700 claims out of 1 244 have been finalised for kingships in this financial year. The commission will process 320 claims. It is envisaged that by December 2015 all the claims will have been completed, to ensure stability in traditional communities.
Thirdly, the Traditional Affairs Bill will be brought to Parliament, as it has been processed and agreed to by Cabinet. Its intents are to reaffirm and recognise the role of the Khoi and San leadership and structures, and to begin to express the functions and the role of traditional leaders. We will deal with that Bill when it comes.
Fourthly, South Africa will be participating in the United Nations World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and their rights. We will contribute to that debate towards its conclusion.
Fifthly, the Department of Traditional Affairs will work on the Traditional Courts Bill together with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, as the Bill belongs there. This Bill is critical in order for traditional courts to function effectively. We will be busy with that particular Bill.
One important milestone is that the department, working together with Salga, has agreed on the maximisation of meaningful participation of traditional leadership in local government. That will be included in the Bill in order for them to be effective in their participation.
The department will continue to work with interfaith organisations, because we have to work with that sector as well as with other religious and spiritual groupings to achieve social cohesion.
We greatly regret the deaths of initiates during this winter initiation season. We express our condolences to the families and include all hon members in the articulation of those condolences.
As the figures stand now, we have had 42 deaths of initiates. The department retains its target of zero fatalities, or zero tolerance of death, and feels that one death is one death too many. Government has employed many mechanisms to curb the loss of life during this important cultural practice, resulting in a decline from 419 in 2012 to 116 in 2013 and 42 in 2014. Therefore, work is progressing in that direction.
The initiation policy has been developed and will be finalised. It has gone to Cabinet committees and will go from there to Cabinet. It will ban all illegal schools, enforce age determinations and ensure that there is compulsory premedical screening. It will look at integrating medical male circumcision into the initiation practice. It will abolish the abuse of initiates and corporal punishment, and it will set up inspectorates for the initiation schools, and so forth.
As we do so, we also want to continue to urge communities to work together as they did during this season, therefore ensuring that we speak and stand as one.
We want to thank the National House of Traditional Leaders Initiation Task Team; the Mpumalanga Ingoma forum; Limpopo for establishing effective measures and integrating male medical circumcision in their initiation practice; the Eastern Cape for coming together and becoming active in this; and the Imbumba Yamakhosikazi Akomkhulu [forum for queens and wives of traditional leaders], an organisation led by women from the royal houses. We are also currently preparing for the summer initiation season for the Free State and the Eastern Cape.
As I conclude, I wish to say that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is committed to improving the lives of our people. Let us participate in the Nelson Mandela clean-up campaign. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]