Durban – The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) has expressed concern over the killing of traditional leaders in the country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.
They expressed their concern at a gathering in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, where they were celebrating the recent announcement by the government that izinduna would be remunerated and also get backpay, to a couple of years back.
Contralesa general secretary, His Royal Highness Zolani Mkiva said they were delighted that izinduna from KZN were finally getting paid, joining the rest of the traditional leaders in the country.
“The fact is we live in a unitary state and there has to be uniformity in how the rules are applied across the country. It had been hurtful that izinduna in this province were not getting remunerated and so now that the KZN government has announced that they will be paid, we are celebrating,” he said on Thursday.
He stressed that given the role that izinduna play in traditional communities in the rural areas, they deserve every assistance they can get.
Focusing on the killing of traditional leaders, the Contralesa general secretary said greater measures were needed to be taken to ensure their safety.
“Safety and security of traditional leaders should be a condition, and not an option. We are really concerned over the killings and the apparent lack of movement to address the matter,” inkosi Mkiva continued.
He said they would like to see an intensive investigation that would probe intensively the killing of traditional leaders, so that the problem is properly addressed.
Aside from traditional leaders from different parts of the country, Thursday’s event at Pietermaritzburg city hall was attended by a number of public figures including Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi, Finance MEC Peggy Nkonyeni and Msunduzi Mayor Mzi Thebolla.