Presentation by Hosi H. Sibisi Mahatlani Traditional Courts Bill, Cape Town 19 September 2012 Vukosi bya ka Mahatlani

I am Hosi Sibisi Mahatlani from Mahatlani Village in Hlanganani,Vhembe District in Limpopo. I represent myself and the Mahatlani Traditional Community. My contribution about the Traditional Courts Bill is that the whole bill must be scrapped and started afresh. My reasons are that we, at Mahatlani, are under an imposed Traditional Authority by the colonial and apartheid laws since late 1950s. My predecessors and our Community does not recognize the imposed Traditional Authority, it discriminates against us on issues of development. They also consider us as outsiders.

The imposed Traditional leader has registered a mine in his own name without informing anybody in the area for his personal gain. He is selling our part of the Klein Letaba river sand without our consent and any compensation to us. My grandfather have told the then apartheid Commissioners that we are a Community on our own and my grandfather as Chief at Mahatlani has never been a junior traditional leader and is not going to start reporting to someone else. We did not have much problems with the Authorities up till the middle 1960s when the Gazankulu Homeland was started. My predecessors had numerous meetings with the then Homeland Premier Prof. Ntsanwisi, they submitted and presented in the Ralushai Commission. They also submitted Chieftaincy, land and boundary claims to the Nhlapo Commission as well.

We have submitted claims to the Kgatla Commision currently in progress in Limpopo. I do not understand why this Bill is being rushed especially in Limpopo, while we are still waiting to appear before the Kgatla Commission. The Commission has still to give its recommendations as to who the legitimate Traditional Leaders are in Limpopo. If the Bill is pushed ahead, the Bill will legitimize all the imposed leaders and we do not know how the government is going to correct that thereafter. The Bill impacts on land and boundaries that the Colonial and apartheid government have distorted. The boundaries make people who are not related, fall under the imposed leaders as their customary subjects. Most of our land have been allocated to other communities that were moved into our land by the Apartheid regime.

We have + ten communities that were so moved without our consultation and consent. When this Bill was drafted, only apartheid registered Traditional Leaders were consulted. The voices of unrecognized Traditional Leaders are not represented in the Bill. I understand the need that some legislation is necessary, especially that women were not represented in the old legislation. I commend the thinking of including everyone as stated in our Constitution to have a say in our everyday life, rural and urban. This is why I urge and recommend that the current Bill be repealed for now, and a new Bill be drafted, that accommodates every South African and that will make every South African live happier ever after.

End Thank You Stand 264 Mahatlani Village P.O. Box 9201 Mahatlani, 0846 Hlanganani, Vhembe District, LIMPOPO Mobile: / Fax: