Traditional leaders receive seats in council

For the first time in the history of Musina Municipality, five senior traditional leaders were officially allocated seats on the council, giving them the power to participate like councillors.

This was during the third meeting of the newly inaugurated municipal council last Thursday. The senior traditional leaders are Chiefs Vuzidzhena Nethengwe, Hanyani Tshikundamalema, Avhatendi Rambuda, William Mutele and Elon Manenzhe.

Prior to 3 August, Musina did not have any traditional leaders officially sitting and participating in the council meetings. Following the new demarcation and disestablishment of Mutale, the municipality inherited approximately 50 villages to form part of Musina. 

Musina Mayor Mihloti Muhlope said it was important for traditional leaders to participate in the council because most of the developments that the municipality undertook happened on their land. “Even before the establishment of the municipalities, traditional leadership had been there for ages. Working closely with traditional leaders will enhance our obligation of delivering efficient services in our municipality, especially in deep rural areas," she said. She added that traditional leaders owned the land and municipalities brought development and, according to her, it was very important for these two institutions to complement each other when it came to service delivery.

Muhlope also said that the municipality aimed to address communication challenges by enabling traditional leaders to understand, negotiate and take part in decision making that affected their communities. “Communication is a key tool for development and social change, especially in a municipality with a lot of rural villages and farms like ours.”

Chief Vuzidzhena Nethengwe said they were taking the allocation of seats for traditional leaders very seriously. “This is the first step in building a sound relationship between traditional leaders and the municipality. We really appreciate the good work that the municipality is doing in delivering efficient services to our people in rural areas.”

News - Date: 24 October 2016

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