Thank you, Chair. This dilemma is, however, further complicated by the fact that King Mayisha has meanwhile passed away and, whilst a successor has been chosen by the family and crowned by the nation, he will no longer be recognised by law.
Whilst the amendment before us extends the life of the commission, it does not allow for matters decided upon by the previous commission to be revisited. The only recourse for the Ndzundza people is, therefore, a court of law, and that again presents problems of its own. Chairperson, we therefore appeal to the Minister to revisit this matter most urgently because people are now threatening that blood will flow if the problem is not solved.
Chairperson, I come from the Southern Cape, where names like Outeniqua, Kouga, Kammanassie, Kango, Baviaans, Gamka, Tsitsikamma, Touws, Gwaing and Gouritz are daily reminders of a history that we can no longer suppress and a heritage that is screaming for recognition.
It was at Aguada de So Brs, the present Mossel Bay, where Bartholomew Diaz landed in 1488. The country was not empty; the indigenous people, probably from Gouriqua or Outeniqua tribes, fled from Diaz, refusing to take any of the things he was trying to give them. At one stage, they were defending their watering holes with stones; Diaz fired a crossbow and killed one of them. It was at the same Mossel Bay where Vasco Da Gama landed in December 1497. The festive mood during Da Gama's visit is expressed in one of the songs that is part of a musical, We shall declare his praises, written by a group of young people from George. The name of the song is December 2nd.
December 2nd, oh what a day When Da Gama landed here in Mossel Bay The notes they play Some were high some low What a harmony they show
The flutists played The bodies swayed And all of us were filled with joy The sounds were sweet We stamped our feet And all of us Just kept the beat
We all look out for that perfect day When everyone on this earth will say Our cups are full Peace will be the rule Love and joy for all to share!
It was in our area that the last chief of the Outeniqua tribe, Kaptein Dikkop, died in 1816. After the death of the great chief in 1816, nobody replaced him as chief of Outeniqua. Their tribal identity had been finally destroyed.
The municipality of Riversdal is now called Hessequa municipality. It was so named after the tribe who once had their home from Baviaanskloof, now Genadendal, all along the Kannakamkanna, Riviersonderend, up to the Ladysmith area. The priests, called suris, came from this tribe.
The little town, Vleesbaai, was once called Angra dos Vaqueiros, Bay of Cattlemen, by the Portuguese because of the thousands of head of cattle of the Gouriqua on the nearby hills. It was indeed a "vleisbaai" where the seafarers could buy or barter for meat.
The Attaqua tribe, who once lived in the Oudtshoorn area, specialised in long-distance trade, as far as Delagoa Bay. The earliest national roads of our country followed these routes.
Chairperson, it is clear that the heritage and history of the descendants, now called "coloureds" or "bruinmense", of these and other tribes are deeply embedded and an indelible part of this country's history. The question now is how to accommodate them in the new legislation and how to identify, if any, the genuine traditional leaders. For generations, there were no tribal lifestyles, and how does one identify individuals as being members of a specific tribe?
In the Southern Cape, there are many individuals who now claim to be traditional leaders of specific tribes, while it is an open secret that neither they nor their fathers or grandfathers were born in these specific areas.
During a radio programme on Friday, 6 November, a certain king of the Koranna was challenged by other individuals who rejected his claim and said that they represented the true king of the Koranna. All three were adamant that their king was the true king.
It will be an almost impossible task to revive tribal lifestyles and to unravel the very complicated cobweb of claims to chieftainship. What we, however, cannot ignore is that most of our brown people carry in them, together with the genes of other nations, also the genes of the founding nation of this country. That they are indigenous, no one can refute.
During the Cabinet meeting of 2004, it was agreed upon that government would seriously look at the matter of first-nation status and historical land rights for the descendants of our founding nation. Up till now, no reports were produced. Thank you. The Western Cape supports the Bills. [Applause.]
Ms N DUBE(KwaZulu-Natal): Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, KwaZulu-Natal supports the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Amendment Bill and the National House of Traditional Leaders Bill. However, the hon Minister has mentioned that our young democracy continues to be the vanguard of change in the lives of our people, in all the corners of our country.
We have wall-to-wall municipalities, which ensure that our people, wherever they are, enjoy democracy and delivery of services. As one of the few countries in the world to do so, we are recognising the institution of traditional leadership within our Constitution as a key player in the lives of the developmental people. We do not only recognise, but we talk, and we walk the talk. The recognition and the respect that are accorded to the institution of traditional leadership are such that all of us need to ensure that, as a people, we do not abuse the systems at hand.
Our concern, Deputy Chairperson, on the Bill, as the work in progress, is a the issue of principal traditional leadership might present some problems in terms of the scenarios in KwaZulu-Natal. There have already been elements and floodgates of opportunists who have claimed to be kings thanks to the framework of traditional leadership in KwaZulu-Natal, which recognises his majesty, the king, on the basis of the customary law in our tradition.
We are also concerned about the issue of the acting king. The issue in our culture is that the king is the king at the present time, and it is only when the king is no more that a new king can be appointed, on the basis of traditions, of culture and the custom of KwaZulu-Natal.
We also recognise that there might be differences in terms of the provinces and in terms of the issues that prevail within our traditional leadership, but we are saying that we need to ensure that issues of traditional leadership, as the Minister was saying, really become central to the development of our state.
The issue of flexibility in terms of the size of traditional councils is an issue that could be assessed. However, we are saying that we should be mindful of the fact that in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, where we have 15 000 indunas, this, if it becomes an institution, might have a serious bearing in terms of cost and affordability.
Looking at the partnership between the district and local municipalities and traditional kingship and queenship councils, we are saying that there is a need to review section 81 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Mr Minister, to redefine this relationship in terms of co- operative governance and in the spirit of co-operative governance. We believe that the synergy and the partnership that the Minister was talking about is something that we need to ensure will continue.
We have already, in our province, begun to work around this. We have the synergistic partnership framework that is already in process, which we work around, between the different district councils, as well as municipalities.
With regard to the amendment of the long-term title, we think this section might open a floodgate to all other structures and traditional institutions, with huge financial implications, as I have mentioned. Currently we even have a challenge in terms of all the packages and all the requirements that we are supposed to have, in terms of the public office bearers Act for the amakhosi in the various Houses and in the various districts. We therefore need to ensure that the activities, also, of various structures do not cause conflict and are also clear, so as to avoid any conflict. Otherwise, Deputy Chairperson, as we have said, we support the two Bills. Thank you. [Applause.]