Mpumalanga’s traditional leaders receive additional monetary support from provincial government

The traditional leaders in Mpumalanga continue to enjoy a considerable amount of aid from the provincial government.

This was evident when the Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, announced that her government would allocate a further R20m to help enhance the day-to-day operations and overall functionality of the Mpumalanga Provincial House of Traditional and KhoiSan Leaders.

Previously, the house had been running its affairs on a R20m budget, but the allocation now puts that at R40m.

Addressing the traditional leaders and the citizenry during the official opening of the Provincial House of Traditional and KhoiSan Leaders last Wednesday, April 17, Mtshweni-Tsipane said the institution of traditional leaders plays a most crucial and pivotal role as a fortified house of preserving cultural heritage and customs and promoting social cohesion and unity across a multicultural diversity, and therefore deserves government’s support.

Mtshweni-Tsipane announced that her government would continue to provide financial and administrative support for cultural ceremonies to celebrate the rich heritages and traditions.

“We will continue to provide R350 000 administration grants and R250 000 as ceremonial grants for all traditional councils led by senior traditional leaders. Kings’ councils shall receive R1m in administrative grants and R450 000 towards cultural ceremonies [ummemo],” she announced.

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She further announced that government would stand by its promise of reviewing the vehicle fleet used by traditional leaders. She committed that by the end of May, government shall have finalised and handed over new vehicles to traditional leaders.

“The functioning of this house is a testament to our commitment to honouring and upholding the traditions and customs of our ancestors,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have already started with the training programmes meant to equip, upskill and sustain amakhosi with foundation skills in financial management and bookkeeping. We will be intensifying these capacity-building programmes to, among others, include ethical leadership and management, land use management and anti-land invasion techniques, local economic development and investment traction, rolling out capacity-building workshops on the Traditional Courts Act in collaboration with the Department of Justice, and agrarian and farming skills, to mention just a few.”

Mtshweni-Tsipane said through these capacity-building programmes, government is satisfied that it will equip traditional leaders with the skills and knowledge required to initiate and oversee long-term economic initiatives in their communities, working together with government to create sustainable jobs.

“In this era of digital and technological advancement, adaption is inevitable. Therefore, capacity-development is key to helping abo-Ndabezitha adapt to new ways of our operations. These changes have a rippling effect on societal dynamics and require knowledge, technical skills and practical exposure in response,” she added.

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She further implored municipalities to ensure that traditional leaders participate and provide critical input into integrated development plans, particularly when it comes to areas falling within the jurisdiction of traditional leaders.