ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane has called on traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape to stop allocating tribal land to foreign nationals and foreign-led churches, arguing that local communities and churches should be prioritised.
Speaking at the launch of the South African Traditional Leaders Awards at Hemingways Hotel in KuGompo City on Saturday night, Mokonyane said traditional leaders had a responsibility to safeguard community resources and ensure land benefited locals.
“When foreign nationals come to our country, they need to know that our laws are the norm.
“When undocumented nationals come to our townships and we give them our homes, who allows that?
“A credible traditional leader does not accept bribes of R10,000 from an undocumented spaza shop owner. This is what we’re faced with.”
Mokonyane also took aim at foreign religious leaders operating in SA, saying local churches should be given preference when land was allocated.
“What we must do is make South Africans believers of faith and not believers of miracles,” she said.
“They must not be misled by people who come from their own countries to perform miracles in our country when they could not perform them in theirs.
“We can’t have traditional leaders giving Bushiri tribal land and not give our own churches.
“Where land is not used, it must be leased to our churches. In that way we respect our very own.”
Her comments come amid a raging national debate over uncontrolled migration, which has fuelled calls in some quarters for tighter border controls and the mass deportation of undocumented foreigners.
The issue has been driven by concerns over unemployment, pressure on public services and claims that undocumented migrants are competing with locals for jobs, housing and business opportunities.
Speaking to the Dispatch on the sidelines of the event, amaXhosa King Ahlangene Sigcawu said the government bore a responsibility for failing to properly manage the country’s borders.
“We have an issue of people who are asylum-seekers who we then see opening spaza shops in our areas,” Sigcawu said.
“You cannot have an asylum permit yet have the means to own a business. The government should tackle that.
“The competitive trading field in our communities is not balanced. Our people are systematically excluded because of unfair trading.”
Sigcawu argued that certain sectors should be reserved for local entrepreneurs.
“Some businesses are supposed to be exclusively kept for our people.
“We have big retail businesses that are now selling fast food as well. If you sell apples, don’t also sell oranges — leave that space for others,” he said.
The South African Traditional Leaders Awards, founded by chief executive Nanziwe Rulashe-Nesi in 2015, recognise the cultural, social and economic contributions of traditional leaders.
The awards honour kings, queens and traditional leaders who promote community development, sustainable livelihoods and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Rulashe-Nesi said she was encouraged by the growth of the awards programme over the past decade.
“We [Eastern Cape] are known as the home of legends, and those legends come from the hands of traditional leaders,” she said.
“We should not sideline traditional leadership in anything we do.
“This initiative has come a long way and I am pleased to see where it is today.
“We want to improve it even further going forward.”
The main awards ceremony is expected to be hosted later this year by the Royal Bafokeng Kingdom in North West province, with traditional leaders set to be honoured in more than 10 categories.
Among those who attended Saturday’s launch were AmaRharhabe King Jonguxolo Sandile, co-operative governance and traditional affairs deputy minister Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, representatives of Western Thembuland, members of the Free State House of Traditional Leaders, National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders deputy chair Inkosi Langa Mavuso and cultural expert Professor Nokuzola Mndende.
Buffalo City mayor Princess Faku and Enoch Mgijima mayor Madoda Papiyana were also in attendance.
Daily Dispatch
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