Minister Gordhan needs to account to Parliament for initiates’ deaths
15 July 2015
Note to Editors: These remarks were made today by DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nqaba Bhanga MP, on an oversight visit to the St Barnabas Hospital in Libode, Eastern Cape and a nearby initiation school.
This time last year Minister Gordhan said that his Department would be working with various role-players to reach the objective of zero deaths in the next initiation period, but recent news suggests that the Minister’s current approach to achieving this goal is failing.
I, myself, underwent the sacred ceremony of initiation in Port Elizabeth. My experience was one of delight as I went through my cultural rite to becoming a man.
We never experienced the fear of death as our young men have to fear today, and our leaders led us by example. The many great life lessons I learnt during the process I still cherish today.
What we have been told today by the families of the injured and deceased initiates is truly shocking. Many of the boys were forced into the practice and we also heard that local traditional leaders forced many of the families into sending their boys against their will.
We know that this is part of a very well developed conversation that is currently happening in communities who hold this tradition dear. But while our boys are dying, government is clearly not doing what it promised to ensure zero deaths be realised.
In fact, it is imperative that government acts decisively and swiftly in mitigating deaths that happen at initiation schools.
Despite Minister Pravin Gordhan’s theme of “Zero Tolerance on Initiation Deaths” for the winter 2015 initiation season, almost 30 young men have lost their lives.
In May this year the Department finally published a draft policy on the customary practice of initiation, however, for a draft policy document to culminate in legislation could take years.
In addition to the delay in introducing national legislation, the Minister of Health has also failed for 12 years to promulgate regulations in terms of section 43(3) of the National Health Act, Act 61 of 2003, prescribing the conditions under which circumcisions may be carried out.
In the absence of national legislation and regulations the Minister announced before the 2015 winter initiation season that provincial initiation monitoring teams had been established with representatives from various government departments and traditional surgeons and caregivers.
The Minister also said that a national task team had visited all provinces to assess the state of readiness and to ensure that effective systems had been established.
However, this approach has not been adequate enough to stop the killing of our innocent boys.
We call on Minister Pravin Gordhan to report to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the circumstances which led to the death of each initiate, the shortcomings of the task team and provincial monitoring teams and what action he will take to address the issues ahead of the 2015/16 summer initiation period.
We call for law enforcement agencies to vigorously investigate and prosecute those responsible for these unnecessary deaths – including officials of government who should have prevented the conditions that caused death.
The DA-run Western Cape government developed an initiation framework and protocol in 2011, which incorporates the provincial Department of Health's circumcision strategy.
This approach focuses on the supply of services that support and respect the initiation process, including giving first-aid training to cultural practitioners and allocating medical officers to initiation sites.
As humane and caring people, we simply cannot allow the national government to continue to fail on this deathly issue. Our young men deserve the best support from government at this delicate, but honourable time of their lives.
The DA will continue to do everything possible to make sure that this support becomes a reality and that not one more life is lost during initiation ceremonies.
Statement issued by Nqaba Bhanga MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, July 15 2015
