Eric Naki
THE yet-to-be-established House of Traditional Leaders in the Eastern Cape looks set to be a thorn in the flesh of premier Raymond Mhlaba.
Rhetoric from traditional leaders in the province indicates that the government may face a drawn-out battle.
The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), which represents a majority of traditional leaders and headmen in the region, has accused the provincial administration of delaying the establishment of a House.
Although the House will have no veto powers in terms of the interim constitution, chiefs in the province promised to use its role as adviser to the legislature “strongly”.
Contralesa’s fiery Eastern Cape chairman, Chief Mwelo Nonkon- yana, has charged that the joint select committee considering the House of Traditional Leaders Bill is moving too slowly. He has clashed publicly with committee chairman John Smith about the delay.
When the provincial parliament convenes on December 7 to 9, its main business will be consideration of this controversial Bill, which some observers say may not be passed into law until early in the new year.
Nonkonyana charged on radio that the government was not interested in matters affecting traditional leaders and threatened that the 1995 local government elections would “be in trouble” if the House were not established by March next year.
The controversial headmen system is also causing sharp debate. Contralesa wants the system retained and improved, not dismantled. But the province’s administration is under pressure from rural activists to abolish it.
Last weekend, Nonkonyana told a regional general council of Ciskei and Transkei chiefs in East London that Max Mamase, the Eastern Cape’s MEC for local government and housing, was planning to abolish the headmen system without consulting chiefs and replace it with regional councils.
Transkei chiefs, through Contralesa, have applied in the Umtata Supreme Court for an order to compel Mamase and Mhlaba to confirm the appointment of headmen and their remuneration in terms of the existing legislation. They have indicated a similar application would be lodged for Ciskei headmen.
Nonkonyana said traditional authorities are recognised in the Interim Constitution Act, which allows them to continue under the new dispensation until the law is amended.
Contralesa is armed with the Transkei Traditional Authorities Act 4 of 1965 in its court application, arguing that the law is still in operation and it has not been repealed or amended as required by the new constitution.
Nonkonyana maintains that the duties of headmen are necessary for a sound administration in rural administrative areas and that headmen were appointed by traditional authorities.
At the Contralesa regional conference at the weekend, delegates expressed fears that the Local Government Transition Act and the Transitional Local Councils would undermine their authority.
The South African National Civic Organisation has also been drawn into the fray. The chiefs decided at the East London meeting that Sanco should not be allowed to canvass support in rural areas, “particularly if the Eastern Cape government was in favour of reconstruction and not civil war”.
Sanco secretary-general Penrose Ntlonti said banning the organisation in rural areas would be tantamount to denying rural people freedom of association. “Sanco will remain in rural areas to ensure people-centered development and grassroots participation in all aspects of civil society,” he said.
Sanco entrenched itself in rural areas after the 1990 “soft revolution” and would resist any move to oust it. The allocation of sites to rural residents is now a prerogative of Sanco leaders, especially in Ciskei rural areas. The government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme projects go through Sanco structures in rural villages. Already there have been clashes between Sanco-aligned committees and chiefs or headmen.