The traditional leadership institutions and local development : an analysis of the role of Chiefs in Moses Kotane Local Municipality

Abstract

An inclusion of patriarchal rule in contemporary legislative rule has been a central issue of traditional leadership since the dawn of colonization, apartheid rule, and the new dispensation. Literature indicates that these challenges are institutionally fragmented; and as such, roles of the traditional leadership in particular remains blur post-apartheid planning and established municipal planning systems. The study addresses the challenges and implications of the unclear roles of traditional institutions in rural planning institutions. It further investigates the established legislations that governs traditional institutions in facilitating land matters in their respective municipal jurisdiction – further assessing the compatibility of coexistence between traditional leadership and the democratic governance system. This concern is further premised on the experienced constraints that traditional leaders face in relation to the issue of inclusivity in all spheres of government. Perceptions on governing institutions in the studied municipality showed how community members preferred governance institution, and further encourage public participation. The study was conducted from December 2020-February 2021. During this phase, qualitative data collection techniques (in-depth interviews, non-participant observations) were employed to operationalize the environment for data analysis. The results indicated that the traditional institutions are perceived to be a strong pillar in institutional governance, particularly in socio-land related challenges experienced by individual communities in the Moses Kotane local municipality. Furthermore, the community of Moses Kotane demonstrated their views on the preferred institution of governance – frequently citing the traditional institution. This outcome derived from the results was an increased and comprehensive dialogue between the municipality, tribal leaders, and other involved stakeholders in administering service delivery to the community and other interrelated aspects of holistic development and growth. The study concludes that the unclear roles of traditional leadership have widened the gap in the space of rural governance. This is indicated by the roundtable discussions that traditional institutions still have with the ministry of cooperate governance and traditional affairs to amend legislations (Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013) to better execute their duties in the space of governance. However, policy amendments that were intentionally ignored (recognition of the roles of traditional leadership on land use and development), brought realities of how deep the connection and daily interactions traditional leaders have with their respective traditional communities.