The MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Mr Jerry Ndou, has urged traditional leaders to work with the government.
He was speaking during the installation of Hosi Samuel Yingwani Chauke of Mtititi village last Friday, which was held at the tribal authority at Mtititi village outside Malamulele.
According to Ndou, both the government and traditional leaders have the responsibility to lead people. He said that they must not fight one another, but rather work together to ensure that people get services. "As traditional leaders, you must also work well with the local municipality and district municipality in order to take services to your respective communities," he said.
He also urged traditional leaders to work well with communities. "You must make sure that you listen and provide solutions to your communities. Do not be rude, but make sure there is a good working relationship because there is no chief without people. A person is called a chief because there are people that he or she is leading," he said.
Ndou said that Limpopo was ready for the initiation season. "We want to maintain the zero-death rate that we achieved last year, but we also want to warn that those who perform unauthorized or illegal initiation schools will be arrested," he added.
The Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders' chairman, Kgosi Maesela Dikgale, advised the newly installed chief to serve the people with determination and commitment. "We urge you to work well with your tribal authority and community at large. We don't want complaints coming to this house as we have dealt with many problems in 2014 coming from this side. You must always show respect to your people and the people must also respect the chief," said Dikgale.