By Abel Mputing
The third session of the public hearings on the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill in the Eastern Cape was held in Graaff-Reinet.

In his opening address the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Richard Mdakane, gave a context of this Bill and the purpose of these public hearings. “This Bill was introduced at the National Assembly last year to restore the Khoi-San’s traditional kingship and authority. And as per our constitutional precepts, we are required to conduct public participation on the Bill that is before Parliament before it is passed into law. We are here in honour of our Constitution, said Mr Mdakane.

“The supreme law of our country ensures that whatever we do in our law-making processes we consult the public and as Members of Parliament, we take that responsibility very seriously. It also calls upon us to address the injustices of the past. This Bill seeks to ensure that the Khoi-San traditional kingship is recognised and exists within the current traditional governance framework. Most of all, we have learnt valuable lessons during these public hearings from the Khoi-San traditional leadership. We will go away well informed and with a better sense of the traditional issues that concern the Khoi-San people.”

“My bone of contention is that the Bill is not simplified,” said the Chief of Inkwa !Xamdeboo, Chief Daatjie Jafta. “I consider myself a learned person, but I struggle to understand some of the Bill’s legal terms. I think we need a more simplified version of the Bill.”

The Director of Ntinga Ntabakandoda Rural Movement, Mr Mazibuko Jara, said they fully support the full recognition of the Khoi-San as the first people of this country. But this Bill, as it stands now, falls short of that. “This Bill is a false law, it does not restore the reparation of Khoi-San. There is a need for another law that will deal with the genocide of the Khoi-San. This Bill falls short of these expectations.

I have studied the Bill and have made a full submission. This Bill amounts to a reconciliation that we all anticipated, but yet there is still a long way to go, said Mr Kenneth Waterboer. “We recognise this Bill’s endeavour to change the colonial discourse for our advance. But the challenge we are faced with is that our customary law practices have been destroyed to the brink of extinction. And 22 years on a battle to find a common ground among Khoi-San is still rife. Nonetheless, through the promulgation of this Bill, we have achieved a milestone. Yes, this Bill will indeed lead to our recognition by our Constitution. Today we are in consultation and we feel proud of ourselves and government for such a milestone.”

It is the Khoi-San nation that was robbed of their land, but now this Bill seeks to give its traditional leadership powers over its people without any pronouncement on the restoration of their rights to land, said Thabisa Mhlahlo. “I find that problematic. Khoi-San must be given their full status as the First Nation of this country that has overriding authority over South African land. They cannot be granted authority over their people without addressing their rights to their indigenous land. There will be no full recognition of the Khoi-San if their land question is not resolved.”

We request more time and consultation so that we are not pressurised and end up making hasty decisions. And if there is no thorough engagement regarding the awareness and public education on this Bill, we will have to reject it, said Chief Daatjie Jafta. “Government must avail sufficient time and resources to properly create awareness that will state its impact on our communities. This Bill will have long-term repercussions on our nation, we therefore have a responsibility to insist to have sufficient time and resources to make the necessary consultation. Precisely because there are many of us who have been left out in this process.”

But most of all, the current Bill does not recognise our First Nation status. As long as that remains the case, we won’t be recognised as part of the world’s nations.

“The UN has recognised us as the First Nation of this country. But this Bill does not recognise us as such. And that remains so, we have no choice but to reject this Bill.”

We accept the bill as it is. We have decided so because we have waited enough and we cannot wait another forty years for our status to be recognised, said a representative of San in the National Khoi and San Council (NKC), Mr Toetie Dow. “We feel strongly that the bill must go through as it is. We are surprised by other people from NKC who oppose this bill because we have resolved to accept the bill. As a representative of the San in NKC we accept this bill as it is.”

We are not happy with the use of the word Khoi in this Bill because it has no meaning in our language and customs, said Mr Lukas Padda. “Our leadership should be looking at this matter. If we allow the use of Khoi as our reference, we will give ourselves a false identification. If we were to recognise our customs and customary law, we therefore cannot accept this false identification.”

How do you recognise someone who is misidentified? How can someone else recognise me when I am not known who am I, asked Mr Donovan Hilton.

“This Bill must identify people properly, the term Khoi is a misidentification of who we are. This term separates us from our original status as Africans. This must be rectified. I call on all of us called as such to refuse to be called coloured or even Khoi-San because that discriminates against us. This Bill seeks to recognise us but it still misidentifies us. We don’t want to be called by the derogatory and discriminatory terms such as Khoi or coloured. We want to be called African.”

The point I want to make is that this Bill is a proposal by the executive. You will still be given a chance to make further submissions. And we are still going to discuss it until there is consensus on it, said the Chairperson. “We are here to listen to your wisdom and the Members of Parliament will engage the issues raised and see how they can inform the Bill before it is passed into law.”

The report will be a guide for the work that still needs to be done by Parliament. We are fairly hopeful that we have grasped the challenges raised, such as access to the Bill, the need to broaden the Bill’s scope and terms of reference and to reconsider its title. We have heard your concerns and they will be part of our report, said Mr Amos Masondo, a member of the Committee.

We are grateful that you have taken time to be here to make your contributions. It is our constitutional mandate to facilitate public participation to ensure that your views and concerns inform our law-making processes, said the Chairperson. “Our presence here is to ensure that we recognise our constitutional mandate and your constitutional rights that ensure that your views form part of our legislation processes. And I must emphasise that we cannot wait for another 20 years for the recognition of the traditional authority of Khoi-San.”