adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has urged traditional leaders to act on the upsurge in criminal activities in their areas of jurisdiction.
Speaking to traditional leaders from Mangwe District last week, the provincial administrator for Matabeleland South, Midard Khumalo said traditional leaders had to put up structures to maintain close surveillance on their areas.
“The problem is that people in communities are not being monitored closely. People who are not known are invading communities and they are settling there without any authorisation.
“These people are the very people who are committing these gruesome murders and other serious crimes which are being reported on a daily basis. The problem is that these people are never brought to justice because they are total strangers,” said Khumalo.
He added: “Structures that will be used for surveillance purposes should be put up in communities. As traditional leaders you should ensure that people do not settle in your areas of jurisdiction without your knowledge.
“The police are key in fighting crime but as traditional leaders you are crucial especially in rural districts and hence you must work with the police. Those criminals should be brought to book and penalised,” he said.
Khumalo urged traditional leaders to assert their authority.
“As traditional leaders, you have to maintain the command which has to be possessed by chiefs and headmen over their areas. You need to use the cultural means of inculcating good behaviour among community members.
“You are an essential part of leadership found within communities as traditional leadership centres around uplifting moral and cultural values which are the cornerstone of every society. Instill those values among people so that they desist from committing crimes,” he said.
He also urged traditional leaders and other community leaders to take an upper hand in urging their people to guard against veld fires. Khumalo said fire-fighting equipment had to be put in place and fire fighting teams formed.
He added that traditional leaders had to partner various government departments to ensure that communities have infrastructure such as roads, clinics and schools.
The traditional leaders pointed out that people had recorded good harvests this year, but have a challenge in accessing water.
Said Chief Bango, “At least this time around people were able to get good produce. The rains were good and there are a few cases of people who might need assistance with food. We also did not have severe cases of animals invading the fields but challenges are still there.
“The first one being that our area does not have mopane worms. This will pose problems as many people rely on them for food and business purposes. Another problem that we have is of lack of water. The rains have come and gone but we were not able to harvest any water for future because we do not have dams. Our dams are damaged and some are silted. The dams need rehabilitation because they are essential in the sustainability of our livestock.”
He pointed out that the concept of cattle feedlots had gone a long way in improving the state of livestock within the district.
Traditional leaders also pointed out that most cases of crime occurred in mining areas found within the district.
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu