Pretoria – The Cooperate Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Ministry has condemned the abductions of initiates and the mushrooming of unregistered initiation schools across the country.
“Abductions so far have been reported in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces. The mushrooming of unregistered initiation schools and abductions undermine government efforts of zero tolerance on initiation deaths campaign.
“Culturally, the initiation practice is intended to be the rite of passage to adulthood, instead of a vehicle for loss of life of our young men,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry on Tuesday also commended all the provinces that have already started with the incident free initiation season.
“We therefore reiterate that only the registered initiation schools and surgeons are permitted to practice safe initiation.
“We have ensured that all initiates have gone through pre-screening process prior to admission to registered schools. We want to thank the Provincial Monitoring Teams and South African Police Services (SAPS) for their swift response to the reported abductions and closing of unregistered initiation schools, which resulted in arrests of perpetrators,” said COGTA.
COGTA said it has ensured that preparatory work and governance structures are in place, as the initiation season has already commenced in various provinces during the past week.
“We call upon parents, traditional leaders and other stakeholders to play their part and remain vigilant in ensuring that we achieve our target of zero initiation deaths in this season,” said the Ministry. - SAnews.gov.za
