Improved benefits for traditional leaders

TRADITIONAL leaders and their immediate dependents are now eligible for medical and pension fund benefits and can start applying through the Government Medical Aid Pension Scheme (GEMS), Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), said MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

‘This is yet another important step we are taking in our efforts to empower our traditional leaders to play a crucial role as a functional interface between traditional communities and the government,’ said Dube-Ncube.

COGTA maintains that by taking advantage of this latest benefit, traditional leaders will can reap the fruits of the democratic dispensation and the provincial government’s desire to undo the wrongs of the past.

‘The medical aid benefits for amakhosi and their dependants will go a long way towards our ultimate goal of affording the institution of traditional leadership its rightful and dignified place within our communities,’ said Dube-Ncube.

In addition to the medical aid benefits, COGTA has, over the past few years, rolled our major capacity building programmes for individual amakhosi and their respective traditional councils which can now take advantage of new facilities and support staff.

Dube-Ncube said, ‘This latest intervention is yet another clear indicator that we are serious when we talk about restoring the dignity of the institution of Traditional Leaders’.