Traditional leaders want Constitution reviewed

The Contralesa conference underway in Mthatha is expected to discuss traditional leaders’ demands for a review of the country’s Constitution and protection of traditional leaders as judicial officers.

The organisation’s provincial policy conference started yesterday and will continue until tomorrow and provincial secretary Chief Mkhanyiseli Dudumayo said among the issues under the spotlight was a demand to review the constitution of the republic.

This included a call for legislation on traditional courts to protect leaders as judicial officers and the issue of minerals and rural land ownership.

He said the three-day conference would provide members with an opportunity to critically evaluate their organisation.

Traditional leaders would also be revitalised to take their key positions at all levels of government.

“All the structures of traditional leadership from royal families to councils of kings or queens will be evaluated.”

He said the conference would also discuss the issue of participation of traditional leaders in party politics as well as the vexed question of traditional leaders forming political movements to contest elections at all levels.

At the Contralesa provincial elective conference in November there was a threat that traditional leaders would field their own candidates in this year’s local government elections.

Addressing the November conference, Contralesa president and ANC MP Chief Setlamorago Thobejane warned if the ANC continued to act without consensus from traditional leaders in certain areas, “we will field our own candidates”.

Contralesa is part of the mass democratic movement, and has traditionally voted for and encouraged its subjects to vote for the ANC.

However, traditional leaders were said to be fed up with being used as “voting fodder” by the ANC.

“We have been fighting to have a session with the ANC to share with them the frustrations confronting the institution, yet they are nowhere to be found,” said Thobejane then.

He said traditional leaders should reflect on what must be done.

“I know that all of us, particularly those of us in the Eastern Cape, belong 100% to the ANC. But the manner in which the organisation is treating the institution will lead many of us to look at alternative homes.”

Thobejane said Contralesa had been bombarded with proposals from its members for traditional leaders to gain more authority through their traditional councils by taking up ward councillor positions.

“If the ANC does not consult to get the consent of who should be councillors, then they would like to forward their own ward councillors.” — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za