OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Tuesday
SOUTH Africa’s much-delayed local government elections will take place on December 5, Local and Provincial Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi announced.
Mufamadi made the announcement on Tuesday after President Thabo Mbeki pledged to prevent the erosion of powers of traditional leaders.
Mbeki earlier met the joint technical committee established to determine whether the powers of traditional leaders would be diminished by the country’s new municipal laws. The committee’s report proposed a number of different options to deal with the question.
The committee chaired by Mbeki’s legal adviser Mojanku Gumbi said that the powers of traditional leaders had been diminished with the transition to democratic governance and that this needed to be addressed.
“The president assured the representatives present that the government was committed to finding a solution to the issue of the erosion of powers of traditional leaders within the context of our democracy,” said a presidential statement.
The announcement of the date was previously postponed on three separate occasions after traditional leaders raised concerns about their role in local government.
A technical task team appointed to investigate the matter met until late Monday night and handed over its report to President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday morning.
The amakhosi are concerned that the proposed local government system would erode their powers, and had sharply rebuked Mufamadi for contemplating the “premature declaration” of an election date. Mbeki indicated that he would apply his mind to the various proposals in the report and arrive at a determination to deal with the issue