The annual traditional practice started on Friday, June 16, and is expected to end by Tuesday, July 18. The MEC for COGSTHA, Basikopo Makamu, officially launched the season on Thursday, June 15 in Polokwane.

Makamu confirmed that the province is ready for a deathfree initiation season. Of the 587 approved schools, 328 are male and 259 are female. Last year saw a high number of young boys and girls participating as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the previous years. “Due to the almost doubled amount of initiation school approved, COGSTHA has adjusted its

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administrative and enforcement capabilities to ensure that the lives of our children are kept safe,” he said. The Sekhukhune district has the highest approved number of initiation schools with 285, followed by Capricorn with 127, Waterberg with 84, and Mopani with 51. The MEC emphasised the law on circumcision schools must be followed. The law states that an initiation school must hold a valid permit.

It further states that no traditional surgeon or any other person is allowed to perform rituals in an initiation school without a certificate of fitness issued for that purpose by a registered medical practitioner. No children under the age of 12 can be admitted to an initiation school and no person is allowed to abduct another for the purpose of taking the abducted person to an initiation school. “This cultural practice makes our culture unique and sets us apart.

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As we execute this, role players such as the Department of Health, the provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee, the police, the National Prosecution Authority, traditional surgeons and caregivers, communities, and family members are called upon to join hands with us,” he concluded Of the 644 initiation school applications received by the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGSTHA), 529 have been approved as the initiation season got underway recently.

The annual traditional practice started on Friday, June 16, and is expected to end by Tuesday, July 18. The MEC for COGSTHA, Basikopo Makamu, officially launched the season on Thursday, June 15 in Polokwane. Makamu confirmed that the province is ready for a deathfree initiation season. Of the 587 approved schools, 328 are male and 259 are female. Last year saw a high number of young boys and girls participating as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the previous years.

“Due to the almost doubled amount of initiation school approved, COGSTHA has adjusted its administrative and enforcement capabilities to ensure that the lives of our children are kept safe,” he said. The Sekhukhune district has the highest approved number of initiation schools with 285, followed by Capricorn with 127, Waterberg with 84, and Mopani with 51. The MEC emphasised the law on circumcision schools must be followed.

The law states that an initiation school must hold a valid permit. It further states that no traditional surgeon or any other person is allowed to perform rituals in an initiation school without a certificate of fitness issued for that purpose by a registered medical practitioner. No children under the age of 12 can be admitted to an initiation school and no person is allowed to abduct another for the purpose of taking the abducted person to an initiation school.

“This cultural practice makes our culture unique and sets us apart. As we execute this, role players such as the Department of Health, the provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee, the police, the National Prosecution Authority, traditional surgeons and caregivers, communities, and family members are called upon to join hands with us,” he concluded