Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Traditional Administration call for intervention

Correspondent | Friday January 17, 2020 14:53

 

The Royal Family, Dikgosana and Traditional Council challenged the Terms of Reference of the commission because they were broadly vague.

The struggle to engage with Premier Mahumapelo continued even after Prof Job Mokgoro was appointed as the new Premier of the North West Province. Premier Job Mokgoro also ignored calls for the terms of reference to be properly clarified. His refusal to clarify terms of reference has resulted in the findings and recommendation which are grossly irrational, contradictory, unlawful and unconstitutional as announced by him (the Premier) through media on the 26th of August 2019 without the decency of consulting Kgosi, the Royal Family, Traditional Council, and Dikgosana.

Subsequent to this announcement the Royal Family, Dikgosana and the Traditional Council lodged a review application of the findings and the recommendations with the Mafikeng High Court.

In the spirit of sections 40 and 41 of the constitution, the Premier received numerous letters requesting indulgence and engagement. Regrettably, the Premier ignored all the requests written to him for engagement. Prof Mokgoro failed to even perform the most basic function of acknowledging receipt of the letters written to him.

The Premier is enjoined in terms of sections 40 and 41 of the constitution to avoid an intergovernmental dispute. The same applies to the BBK Traditional Council. Section 41 (3) of the constitution provides that “an organ of state involved in an intergovernmental dispute must take every reasonable effort to settle the dispute by means of mechanisms and procedures provided for that purpose, and must exhaust all other remedies before it approaches a court to resolve the dispute”. In all instances the Premier has undermined his constitutional obligations and oath of office.

On the December20, 2019, the Premier again through the media, without any consultation, announced the appointment of an Administrator to take over the functions of the Traditional Council. This decision of the Premier to appoint an Administrator constitutes actions which practically and adversely affect the rights, interests, customs and the traditional practices of Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Traditional community.

There is no lawful, rational nor factual basis for the decision to appoint the Administrator as recommended by the Baloyi commission, hence the review application (this has become the Premier’s trademark to play to the gallery and sensationalise our affairs).

The Traditional Council then lodged an urgent court application, challenging the appointment of an administrator on January 2, 2020. The judge however struck the matter off the roll due to lack of urgency.

Some sections or groupings of people who seem to be working with the office of the Premier are peddling lies in the community, suggesting that the Traditional Council court action against the Premier has been dismissed. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, the matter has been placed on the normal court roll and will be heard in due course.

It is very clear that the Premier has totally undermined the spirit of Cooperative Governance through his actions and conduct. It is also very clear, that the office of the Premier is at the epicentre of conflicts and destabilisation of Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela for nefarious reasons.

We are fully aware that the agenda to use the Administrator is to disempower Kgosi, the Royal Family, Dikgosana and the Traditional Council in order to steal the assets of Morafe and hand them over to Kgafela Kgafela, the people of Mochudi and the so-called ‘Land Committee members’ in Lesetlheng village.

This plan will give them unfettered access to the resources of Morafe which they will use to drive their fictional battles to undermine the current leadership of the ANC. The Premier is making a big mistake of thinking that we do not know where he is taking instructions from to undermine the legitimate structures of Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in Moruleng.

We are also fully aware that the same ‘Land Committee’ is all out to grab Pilanesberg Platinum Mine away from Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in all the 32 villages, and to place it in their own hands. We reject this attempt and call upon Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in all the 32 villages to rise against this greed.

Finally, we as the Royal Family, Dikgosana and the Traditional Council, call upon the office of the President of the Republic of South Africa and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to intervene and stop the Premier from arbitrarily imposing decisions that are unconstitutional and unlawful on Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in Moruleng.

We further call upon the office of the Premier to stop sidelining legitimate and recognised leadership structures, but engaging with splinter groups within the community in an effort to undermine and destabilise the community, Bogosi and the Traditional Council. There clearly is a behavioural pattern that demonstrates that the office is colluding with Kgafela Kgafela and his supporters. This is a dangerous conduct by the highest office in the Province and it has to stop. We do not want to experience another Marikana massacre in our Province.