Land reform is one of the most complex topics in South Africa.
Traditional leaders throughout the country have united and formed a non-profit organisation known as the Monarch and Royal Leadership Council (Monroyal).
It aims to address sensitive issues, such as land restoration and other problems faced by the communities.
Monroyal chair Phumlani Mfeka said the recently launched organisation would soon start its land restoration process and would be negotiating directly with white people who own the land.
“The aim of this formation is to empower and unite amaKhosi as a formidable force for land restoration, cultural resuscitation, socio-economic development and ensuring the prosperity and dignity of communities who reside in the realms of traditional leaders,” said Mfeka.
“We shall invite the minister of land affairs and rural development to join us on this imperative quest, as these dialogues will involve legal experts, royal leaders and community representatives to ensure equitable outcomes that honour the sacred duty of reclaiming our land.
“We cannot remain silent while our ancestral land continues to be declared heritage sites and game reserves, while the bones of our ancient kings and queens rest in these very places, with legitimate royal houses having no access, rights, nor say while animals and developments continue to disturb the resting places of our majestic forefathers.”
Expropriation without compensation
When asked if he believed in taking land without compensation, Mfeka said that it was a dangerous strategy that might lead to bloodshed.
He said his entity’s strategy was land restoration, which meant they were going to negotiate with current land owners and demand to be given a portion of the land, instead of taking it.
“The reason we are using this approach is because we realised that the government and the politicians have failed to get our land back,” he said.
“The current government strategy of returning the land to its owners is dangerous and can lead to bloodshed, and we don’t want that to happen to our people.”
Contralesa
When asked whether the organisation was serving the same purpose as the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), Mfeka said the formation of the entity had nothing to do with the existence of Contralesa, as most of the members were not part of it.
He declined to comment on whether Contralesa and the House of Traditional Leaders failed to represent the traditional leaders.
“Since we were not part of Contralesa, we cannot say anything about it because we don’t know their mandate,” he said.
“I believe that our entity will learn a lot from Contralesa, and we have no problem with them or any other structure representing traditional leaders, because we are fighting the same battle.
“Every royal house is welcome to join us without abandoning their affiliation with other organisations.”
He said the organisation has members and representatives nationally and will soon expand to other countries in the southern African region.
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Not linked to the MK party
Mfeka denied allegations that Monroyal might be linked to the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party because he is a former MK representative in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, while another senior member, Mary Phadi, was also the MK leader in the Mpumalanga legislature.
Mfeka resigned from MK, while Phadi was pushed out and replaced by the former Public Protector Advocate, Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
“The organisation is not aligned to any political party, and it will never be influenced by politicians. However, we do not have a problem when our members join political parties,” said Mfeka.
When asked if MK leader Jacob Zuma would be allowed to be part of the formation, he agreed on the grounds that their organisations allowed any royal family to be part of it.
Another land organisation?
Herold Lekhuleni, a senior member of the Oral History Association of South Africa, said there was no need for another organisation representing traditional leaders because “anything that has to deal with traditional matters should be addressed within the existing structures, such as the House of Traditional Leaders, which are constitutional structures and also Contralesa, which have been in existence for the longest time”.
“Rather than inventing the wheel, let’s revamp what we have, if indeed there is a need to do so,” said Lekhuleni.
“I understand that it is within their right to form this organisation, which they believe could be a vehicle to pursue their objective.
“Already, Contralesa has made great strides in articulating the needs of traditional leaders and their communities.
“We are stronger together than when we operate in silos. It is said that when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
This is what we should do as a nation and as people.
It seems our country is overwhelmed by the formation of organisations that are not radically different from those in existence.
“As a nation, we need to learn to focus on our similarities rather than our differences. Let’s support where necessary and criticise in order to advocate correction.”
Cultural expert Gakwi Mashego said South Africa was infested with organisations representing traditional leaders, to the point that “there is nothing the newly launched body is actually going to do because the existing organisations have already taken care of all the problems faced by communities”.
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