Too many chiefs bloat the council

GOVERNMENT has set up a team to help with the reform of the Council of Traditional Leaders after the body became too bloated due to too many members.

Local Government Minister Jerry Ekandjo told Parliament on Tuesday night that they are overwhelmed by ‘unending applications for recognition’ which are fragmenting traditional communities.’The bloated size of the Council [of Traditional Leaders] makes it increasingly difficult to hold regular meetings,’ Ekandjo said while motivating his ministry’s budget of N$796 million.He said Government will introduce measures to minimise further recognition of new traditional communities.The Council of Traditional Leaders now has 94 members, up from 84 the previous year after five more traditional authorities were recognised during the past year.There are 47 recognised traditional authorities in the country and 14 individuals from each authority receive a monthly allowance from Government. That means Government pays the allowances of 658 traditional leaders in the country.Ekandjo said each of the 47 recognised traditional authorities has secretaries and they will be trained in office administration this financial year.That is in addition to training for all recognised traditional leaders on the provisions of the Traditional Authorities Act and other laws.Ekandjo also announced that Government has approved applications for recognition from the Kakurukouje (Kunene) and Ovaherero (Omaheke) traditional authorities.Applications for recognition of the Mureti and Hoveka Royal Houses have been referred to the Council of Traditional Leaders for investigation.The Ministry of Local Government has set aside more than N$37,6 million for ‘traditional authorities co-ordination’.It is not clear whether that amount includes the double-cab bakkies Government intends buying for recognised traditional authorities this year. christof@namibian.com.na