Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma says government will continue to invest in the country’s rural areas, in order to stimulate local economic growth and to further the social development of people living outside urban areas.
“It is important to strengthen our rural areas and invest in the land, in agriculture and stock farming to enhance food security.
“It is therefore correct and proper that we reiterate the call for traditional leaders to marshal their communities back to the land to plough and produce food through subsistence farming,” said the President on Wednesday.
He was addressing the National House of Traditional Leaders during the debate of the address he delivered during the annual opening of the House.
The President said programmes aimed at rural development, such as Masibuyele emasimini and Fetsa Tlala, were well placed to encourage the rural population to get into subsistence farming. The move, he said, would contribute a great deal towards food security in the country.
Government’s land reform and redistribution programmes were some of the initiatives taken to support small-scale farmers towards becoming formal commercial farmers, President Zuma said.
Cultural integration
Switching focus to other matters of concern to the House, the President said the process of integrating the Khoi and San leadership into the mainstream cultural leadership was on course.
He said the Traditional Affairs Bill would be amongst the laws to be considered by the new Parliament after the May 7 general election.
“I urge you to use this opportunity of public consultations on this bill, following the Government Gazette published by Cabinet last year, to make further inputs before its submission to Parliament,” he said.
President Zuma said the Khoi and San victories of more than 500 years ago and the subsequent ones were recorded.
“Programmes must be developed to integrate these commemorations and celebrations of the Khoi and San battles, and their victories, into the general cultural events calendar of the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Department, particularly led by the Department of Traditional Affairs,” he said.
Reopening of land claims
President Zuma said the reopening of the land claims law was passed by Parliament on February 24.
“We intend to interact with you directly as we together have to accelerate the pre-1913 land claims, an opportunity created by the ANC government for the descendants of the Khoi and San to lodge their claims.
“The reopening of the land claims will also recognise the heritage and national landmarks that must be protected, [as they are] areas of huge interest to traditional leadership, as they have sacred meanings,” he said.
Initiation schools
The President announced that Cogta and the Health Minister will meet soon to consider possible interventions to curb further deaths at initiation schools.
“They will engage traditional leadership institutions and practitioners to ensure that measures are put in place and implemented as soon as possible.
“This will help to clear the way for initiation, one of our old important customs, which should be handled with all care to eliminate injuries and casualties,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
