Eastern Cape Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Xolile Nqata has warned that the continuing rise in the deaths of initiates in the province will force them to cut salaries of traditional authorities.
Nqata says traditional leaders are the custodians of the custom.
He visited initiation schools in the Chris Hani District, where seven of the 17 initiates who died in the province come from.
Nqatha says they will have no option but to take drastic measures. “We are going to get into a process to review the legislation as a provincial government so that there are consequences for traditional leaders, the custodians of the traditions and customs. We cannot find tragedies such as these we are facing in the province. There must be an impact in your salary because you must work for what you are earning. They cannot continue to be paid without that.”
