Parliament, Wednesday, 23 April 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Tuesday firmly rejected the Department of Traditional Affairs’ targets addressing harmful practices associated with illegal initiation schools. It urged the department to re-examine these targets immediately.
The committee received a briefing on the department’s annual performance plan for 2025/26 and its strategic plan for 2025–2030. Departments present these plans and reports to parliamentary committees to ensure accountability, transparency and effective resource management. This enables committees to scrutinise departmental performance and spending and hold them accountable to the public.
Members learnt that the department’s strategic plan will centre around four outcomes, including ensuring that institutions of Traditional and Khoi-San leadership are functional, legitimate and governed in compliance with applicable laws. Other outcomes focus on transformation, ensuring that traditional leadership structures are inclusive, rights-based and aligned with constitutional values. It was, however, the targets set for promoting safer initiation practices by reducing illegal initiation schools and related injuries and casualties that particularly concerned members.
The committee heard that the department plans to reduce initiation deaths from 63 to 13 and illegal schools from 429 to 229 by 2029. The committee heard that this would be done through increased oversight, community education and regulatory reform.
Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize highlighted that the targets for safer initiation practices are inconsistent with the government’s zero-tolerance approach to initiation casualties. The Chairperson voiced strong objections to any performance targets that imply that anything but zero deaths, penile amputations or illegal initiation schools operating are acceptable. He labelled the targets as “indefensible” and aimed at normalising preventable harm under the guise of bureaucratic compliance.
The committee urged the department to revise all targets related to initiation harm to reflect this principle. “That (targets) is a big problem,” he told the department. “All targets should be zero. If not, you will be accused of running this programme in a way that allows certain deaths and amputations. You must relook at this. If we say that fewer deaths mean success, we risk legitimising the very harm we are meant to eradicate. The only acceptable target for loss of life or amputation is zero. Anything else sends the wrong message to the public,” said the Chairperson.
Regarding the Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders Act, the committee emphasised that Parliament, through the committee, must play an active role in amending this legislation, which was found to be unconstitutional. The committee also called for a more collaborative approach in the recognition process of Khoi-San traditional leaders, describing it as complex. The Chairperson suggested sharing relevant information with the department and establishing mechanisms to facilitate interaction with the body responsible for traditional leadership matters.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COGTA, DR ZWELI MKHIZE.
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