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Traditional Leaders in South Africa

Traditional leaders in South Africa are paid too much. This isn’t anything new or revolutionary – many people have said it before me, including the man who wrote a short piece in 2014 entitled “Stop paying tribal leaders out of South African taxes”.

BusinessTech.co.za describes traditional leaders in the following way: “Traditional kings and senior leaders are symbolic figureheads in the country with little political power. However, these rulers play an important role in local disputes as well as in playing advisory roles to government – as well as in the lives of the traditional rural populations.”

I do not deny that traditional leaders have their role to play in cultivating different cultures and in land reformation in South Africa, but what role do they play in our modern democracy? I have often noted, with concern, that some South Africans treat the president of South Africa like a king or chief, rather than a civil servant. I want to remind all South Africans that our chosen leaders – our democratically chosen leaders – are meant to serve us as our ultimate representatives, not to rule us for their own gain.

Traditional leadership and a modern democracy do not fit each other easily. To help the two very different systems mesh, South Africa set up six Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders. Each house is meant to advise the provincial government on laws and decisions that affect traditional laws and customs. The National House fulfils this purpose with respect to the national government.

The traditional leaders of South Africa cost us, the taxpayers, in excess of R650 million a year. In 2015, there were about 6100 traditional leaders, including kings, senior traditional leaders, chiefs and headmen/women. And all of these leaders are paid by the South African government. The population of South Africa in 2015 was estimated to be around 55 million people, around 20 million of whom live in areas ruled in part by traditional leaders. An estimate of 14 million South Africans pay tax (that is about 25% of South Africans, or 38% of the adult population). That means that 14 million South Africans pay R650 million a year to support 6100 traditional leaders (R106 555 per leader) who affect less than half of the population.

Apart from direct salaries, traditional leaders also benefit from provincial spending. In 2015, the Department of Royal Affairs, specifically dedicated to the Zulu Royal Family (and thus primarily King Goodwill Zwelithini) R54 million, used up within months to buy luxury vehicles for the king’s 8 wives (this sounds very like a recent scandal involving 4 of President Zuma's wives getting 11 luxury vehicles from the police budget). King Zwelithini requested a further R10 million from the government, of which he received R5 million. R59 million from taxpayers, before even considering his exorbitant salary.

Despite this, CONTRALESA (the Congress of Traditional Leaders in South Africa) says that traditional leaders should be paid more. They claim that kings are on par with the president in leadership status, and are also government employees, and should thus receive an equivalent salary. The group states: “The best that [traditional leaders] receive is a basic salary without the concomitant allowances such as medical aid, motor vehicle allowances, pension benefits, etc.” I don’t know in which country a salary of R84 125 a year (on average) is considered basic, but it is certainly not South Africa. This is compared to the president’s salary of almost R3 million a year... or the lowest minimum wage in SA (about R17 000.)

I encourage all my readers to read this article, which includes more detail on the spending of our traditional leaders.

I do not believe traditional leaders should be paid more (I actually believe our democratically chosen leaders should be paid less, but that is a topic of discussion for another day). In a country where 54% of the population is living in poverty, our leaders are far removed from the suffering of their people – in fact, they are part of the cause. R650 million (their wages only) can build over 12000 RDP houses or 45 new public schools. Is the nominal leadership provided worth that money, and the other R400 million or so spent on royals by the provincial governments?

I will not discuss here the many indiscretions and even outright hate speech that our traditional leaders have been known to indulge in – refer back to the spate of xenophobic attacks after King Goodwill Zwelithini spoke out against foreigners. That is its own horrifying set of problems.

I would, however, like my readers to take into account the recent events at Hammanskraal, where the City of Tshwane attempted to forcefully remove residents, allegedly at the request of the Kekana Royal Family (which the chief has subsequently denied). The leadership of traditional leaders, in this case, was at best absent. I would like to know if anyone can tell me of an incident where their lives were positively affected by the tribal leaders – where they experienced the leaders as showing leadership and wisdom, in a way that justifies the massive salaries.

There is a saying: “You get what you pay for.”

My question is, are we really?

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