SEMINAR ON HERITAGE AND CULTURAL TOURISM AS A MEANS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR RURAL AREAS

A PRESENTATION BY THE NATIONAL HOUSE OF TRADITIONAL LEADERS

20 JULY 2010

IntroductionTraditional Leadership in Context:

a) More than 17 million people owe allegiance to the institution in traditional community areas in SA (even some who have settled in urban areas still have their roots in traditional communities);

b) One of the oldest governance institutions in the world;c) Operates through traditional councils, local houses, provincial houses

and the National House of Traditional Leaders;d) Performed key governance, service delivery, development and

judicial functions before 1994;e) Recognised in terms of the new Constitution (1996) and roles defined

in terms of national and provincial legislation;f) Structures are organs of state as defined in S239 of the Constitution,

but by no means a fourth sphere of government;g) Key partners of government at all levels and a critical role-player in

governance, service delivery and development.

Key Functions of Houses of Traditional Leaders Cont…

the Constitution of South Africa accords customary law and the system of traditional leadership a place in our legal system by recognizing it in chapter 12. It further provides that national and provincial legislation must provide for roles of traditional leaders as well as the establishment and functioning of houses of traditional leaders;

The primary aim of these entities is to partners with government to ensure that service delivery and development does in deed take place in our communities.

The primary role is therefore to:

a) Promote socio-economic developmentb) Promote service deliveryc) Contribute to nation buildingd) Promote peace and stability amongst the community memberse) Promote social cohesiveness of communitiesf) Promote the preservation of the moral fibre and regeneration of societyg) Promote and preserve the culture and tradition of communitiesh) Promote the social well-being and welfare of communities

Key Functions of Houses of Traditional Leaders Cont…

The following are the legislated roles of the Houses at national and provincial levels

Advise government and participate in developing policies impacting on rural communities;

Advise government and participate in the development of legislation that impacts on rural communities;

Participate in (international and national) programmes geared towards the development of rural communities;

Participate in national initiatives meant to monitor, review and evaluate government programmes in rural communities

Advise national government on the customary interests of traditional communities; and

Perform tasks as may be determined by a member of the National Cabinet or as may be provided for in national legislation.

Key Functions of Traditional Councils…

A traditional council has the following functions:

Administering the affairs of the traditional community in accordance with customs and tradition;

assisting, supporting and guiding traditional leaders in the performance of their functions;

supporting municipalities in the identification of community needs; facilitating the involvement of the traditional community in the

development or amendment of the integrated development plan of a municipality in whose area that community resides;

recommending, after consultation with the relevant local and provincial houses of traditional leaders, appropriate interventions to government that will contribute to development and service delivery within the area of jurisdiction of the traditional council;

participating in the development of policy and legislation at local level;

Key Functions of Traditional Councils Cont …

A traditional council has the following functions:

participating in development programmes of municipalities and of the provincial and national spheres of government;

promoting the ideals of co-operative governance, integrated development planning, sustainable development and service delivery;

promoting indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development and disaster management;

alerting any relevant municipality to any hazard or calamity that threatens the area of jurisdiction of the traditional council in question, or the well-being of people living in such area of jurisdiction, and contributing to disaster management in general;

sharing information and co-operating with other traditional councils; and performing the functions conferred by customary law, customs and

statutory law consistent with the Constitution.

General Tourism Context

Tourism is the fourth largest earner of foreign exchange in South Africa. The potential for South Africa to grow its tourism industry, to triple its contribution to national income and to at least double its foreign exchange earnings by the year 2000, is very real.

The recent successful political transformation in South Africa has virtually 'opened' the country's tourism potential to the rest of the world and indeed to the previously neglected groups in society

Tourism has become a fiercely competitive business. For tourism destinations the world over, as indeed for South Africa, competitive advantage is no longer natural, but increasingly man-made - driven by science, technology, information and innovation

Specific Roles in Development and Tourism

The Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act in sections 19 and 20 provides for government departments to allocate roles or delegate functions to traditional leadership and this include:

Economic development; Tourism; Management of natural resources; Arts and culture; Environment; etc.

Currently the cultural tourism potential of the country is not being fully exploited. If this is done it is only done mainly by individuals or companies like hotels for their individual benefit and this in most instances does not include traditional leaders as the custodians of culture and heritage in South Africa.

For traditional leadership the main objective should be for traditional leaders and traditional communities to begin to take charge of their own economic potential to exploit the rich heritage that attracts visitors in our beautiful country

Specific Roles in Development and Tourism Cont… Resources in rural areas are often exploited by business people who

sometimes ignore traditional leaders and communities. Very little benefit goes to local people except some low level employment in

lodges and hotels established in rural communities The culture and heritage of these areas is exploited as a tourism attractions

mainly for foreign tourists, but very little benefit accrues to local people Indigenous dances, beadwork, foods, attire, language, unique archaeological

sites and battlefields, etc are mainly situated in rural areas and bring thousands of tourists in the country – these are mainly not owned by local rural people

Traditional leaders are custodians of land, language, cultures and customs of people in most rural areas – if involved a lot of benefit can go towards them and their communities

Traditional leaders should be involved in developing the economic development plans (as part of IDPs) and local tourism should be part of this process

Traditional leaders want to fully get involved in granting development rights for their areas including tourism development to stimulate local economic development

CHALLENGESWhile some actions are being taken to involve traditional leaders in development we still face some of the challenges including:

1) Inadequate material support provided to the institution of traditional leadership at all levels leading to inability to explore the development potential in rural areas;

2) Lack of understanding of the role and the relevance of the institution by some;

3) Involvement of traditional leaders in municipal council meetings with clear guidelines as to the role of traditional leaders still an issue;

4) Allocation of roles to traditional councils by government departments has not happened;

5) Capacity building of traditional leadership structures (skills development and resource provision);

6) Inclusion of traditional leaders in governance, service delivery and development programmes, not just for public participation purposes, but as key respected partners and role-players;

7) Involvement in IGR structures and in ward committees of municipalities at local level;

8) Respect and adherence to protocol by all, as practiced in traditional communities.

THANK YOU!

Mr Nathi MpungoseActing CEO/Secretary: National House of Traditional Leaders

Tel: 012 395 4646Fax: 0866333905

Cell: 082 317 6007e-mail: nathim@cogta.gov.za