No young person should lose their life during initiation – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged traditional leaders to work with law enforcement officials to ensure that those involved in the abduction of young men to initiation schools are arrested and charged.

Ramaphosa was speaking at the annual opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders in Parliament earlier on Tuesday.

“We need to address the abuse of cultural practices that result in the violation of human rights. Customary initiation is a rite of passage to manhood and adulthood for our young people.

“But it has become increasingly infiltrated by unscrupulous people and many young men are being maimed or are losing their lives,” he said.

In December, City Press reported that close to 30 initiates had died in initiation schools in the Eastern Cape, a figure higher than that of 2018.

Read: Initiation: ‘Women carry these boys for nine months and we kill them in just eight days’

The establishment of the Customary Initiation Bill, which was approved by Cabinet in 2017, aimed to provide for the responsibilities, roles and functions of those involved in initiation practices in order to reduce the death rates of initiates.

The bill “should serve as a critical empowering law to regulate the practice of customary initiation”, Ramaphosa said.

The president also advocated for unity between government and traditional leaders. He said that the two should be committed to:

• Reducing the rate of rural-urban migration to ensure rural areas aren’t places where young people leave, only to return when they retire;

• Expanding the tourism sector to benefit rural communities;

• Including the recognition and role of female traditional leaders;

• Tackling unemployment, which fuels social problems such as substance abuse, alcoholism and gender-based violence;

• Equipping young people with agricultural and life skills, offering them practical support as they embark on relevant farming projects;

• Adhering to the findings of the Advisory Panel on Land and Agriculture in 2018; and

•  Looking to mining and tourism as sectors which have the potential to change the lives of communities.

Ramaphosa’s speech will be debated on Thursday, February 27.

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