Weekly Mail Reporter
THE chief does not reign. He rules. He allocates land=20 to his subjects for a fee. He presides over a tribal=20 court to pass sentence on minor offenders. He decides=20 where schools can be built and where boreholes can be=20
The chief is the supreme ruler over his subjects: they=20 either submit to his will — even on political issues – – or they are forced out of his fiefdom.
He never faces the ballot box, having derived his power=20 through inheritance.
Fearing a loss of this power in local government=20 elections due in October, IFP-aligned chiefs in=20 kwaZulu/Natal are fiercely resisting moves to hold the=20 poll in their fiefdoms, thus denying an estimated 2,7- million voters — the majority in kwaZulu/Natal — the=20 right to vote.
Chief Boy Mzimela, the deputy chairman of the=20 kwaZulu/Natal House of Traditional Leaders who rules=20 over about 100 000 people in the Mtunzini district in=20 northern Natal, said: “We are born administrators. It=20 is our responsibility to bring development to our=20 people. We do not want to lose our power as amakhosi=20
But the Zulu Royal House — to which all chiefs ought=20 to pay allegiance — supports local government=20 elections in tribal areas. Said Royal House spokesman=20 Prince Sifiso Zulu: “Tradition cannot withstand=20 democracy … A new revolution will come about … We=20 must avoid that.”
But IFP-aligned chief Wellington Hlengwa, who has about=20 20 000 people under his control in Umbumbulu on the=20 South Coast, fears that elected local government=20 structures will lead to the ultimate destruction of the=20
“I will have no land; no people and no control. I will=20 become a councillor to the mayor, and then too I will=20 be one of many councillors,” said Hlengwa, adding:=20 “When I die, who on the council will come along to say=20 my son should take over and, if so, to do what?”
Zulu argued that the IFP’s position was “paradoxical” – – the party wants chiefs to have executive powers at=20 local government level but was opposed to King Goodwill=20 Zwelithini having such powers at provincial level.
“What is then stopping the Royal House, and the rest of=20 the people in this province, from campaigning for the=20 king to have executive powers so that he can appoint=20 his own cabinet and premier chief if he wishes to?”=20 asked Zulu, adding that just as Zwelithini has accepted=20 the status of constitutional monarch in the province,=20 chiefs need to accept that they would serve only in an=20 ex-officio capacity in elected local government=20
He believes that by refusing to surrender power, chiefs=20 were standing in the way of the development of their=20 communities. “No single person can administer the=20 affairs of 30 000 people on his own. People need=20 electricity, tap water, access roads (and) clinics –=20 that is why they migrate to the urban areas,” said=20 Zulu, adding: “Development is not a threat to chiefs.=20 It consolidates them. It ought to boost their morale=20 when they see the living standards of their people=20
But Hlengwa fears that elected local government=20 structures will bring about “modernisation”, thus=20 destroying the fabric of rural life.
“Our land will go up for sale and people from=20 Johannesburg will come and buy it. We will become=20 tenants and our people will end up sleeping in the=20 streets. Right now, our people don’t only get a piece=20 of land for residence purposes but also for farming,”=20 added Hlengwa.
Zulu argues that chiefs must also lose their right to=20 administer land. “If the chiefs must administer the=20 land, why not have the king administer the province?”=20 asked Zulu. He added that by continuing to administer=20 the land, chiefs will hamper the government’s land=20 reform programme aimed at overcoming the legacies of=20
“How can you apply land reform when people do not enjoy=20 democracy; do not have ownership rights and are=20 prevented from being complete individuals?” asked Zulu.