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2 days ago

Informative Trust High 80% #traditional-leadership #rural-development #agriculture #government #ramaphosa #livestock #water-sanitation #local-government #mineral-beneficiation #youth-employment

Ramaphosa opens National House of Traditional Leaders, pledges rural development support

Podcast Briefing 2:45

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Key Strategic Points

  1. 1 President Ramaphosa declared the third session of the sixth National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders officially open, emphasising traditional leadership as 'the roots' of the nation that stabilise democracy and enable economic growth.
  2. 2 The government will deploy 10,000 new agricultural extension officers across the country to provide technical support to smallholder and commercial farmers, with the model drawing on Ethiopia's success in transforming agriculture into its top-performing economic sector.
  3. 3 South Africa will vaccinate all 14 million cattle in the country against foot-and-mouth disease using vaccines arriving from domestic and international sources, prioritising communal and smallholder farms where the disease has erupted.
  4. 4 Government will invest more than R156 billion in water and sanitation infrastructure over the next three years for rural areas, including projects such as the Moretele north clipur bulk water scheme and the Dabanga dam on the Vaal River.
  5. 5 The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created over 2.5 million livelihood opportunities for young people including in rural areas, with the National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARSAC) providing training in agriculture, construction, IT and hospitality.
  6. 6 During South Africa's G20 presidency in 2025, the country successfully advocated for beneficiation of critical minerals at source rather than export of raw materials, a position now accepted by G20 countries controlling 75 percent of global GDP.
  7. 7 Government is conducting a comprehensive review of the white paper on local government to restructure municipal-traditional leadership cooperation and prevent 'elite capture' of communal land through transparent and equitable allocation systems.
  8. 8 Traditional leaders are well-represented in the national dialogue steering committee and eminent persons group tasked with developing a national compact for the country's direction by 2030, with these dialogues described as citizen-led rather than government-directed.

Notable Quotes

“You are the roots of this tree. It is you who our people turn to in times of uncertainty and upheaval and on whom they rely for guidance and wisdom that has been passed down through the ages and generations.”

— Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

“The institution of traditional leadership forms the sturdy roots that hold the great tree of our nation together. Traditional leadership is that institution that anchors us in history. It nourish us with identity about who we are.”

— Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

“When we launched the district development model which seeks to get all key stakeholders in particular districts or areas to work together, we said that development plans must be informed by engagement with communities.”

— Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

“We are determined that our minerals should be processed and beneficiated where they are extracted so that we can export finished products and not raw materials so that we stop exporting rock, soil and dust.”

— Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

“As we all know, agriculture has been one of the strong contributors to the growth of our economy. In the past few quarters, agriculture has come through and we are beginning to demonstrate that we have agricultural capability.”

— Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa

“We are recognizing [ministerial] work and I think lastly Minister Mandela is speaking the right language now to say the better way of communities partaking in economic activities is for communities to apply not only wait for investors to come.”

— Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders

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