CO-OPERATIVE Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen says his department will need to intensify its efforts in clamping down on illegal initiation schools in preparation of the June initiation season.
This was in reaction to 39 deaths recorded nationally during December 2016. He has urged communities to help them identify illegal schools.
“Our stance has always been that we have zero tolerance on initiation deaths.
“We have been partnering with provinces to tackle this issue and they have been very supportive and we must appreciate the support that we have been getting from various traditional leaders because they are the custodians of this culture,” Van Rooyen said yesterday.
The National House of Traditional Leaders said the number decreased compared to last year where more than 50 initiates died.
“We still think we must still do a lot to make sure there are no deaths as a result of this important ritual.
“There are various reasons the Eastern Cape continues to have most deaths. There is an issue of the so-called illegitimate or illegal schools.
“There is a lot of work that has been done and we are happy with the work done by the task team looking into this issue. We still need to intensify our work,” added Van Rooyen.
Deputy Minister Obed Bapela will conduct visits across all provinces to have discussions about what could be done differently in preparation for the June season.
National House of Traditional Leaders deputy chairperson Sipho Mahlangu said there was still strong resistance from parents and communities in allowing medical doctors to check how the procedure was performed on initiates.
Mahlangu said hundreds of young men had ended up in hospital due to being assaulted, dehydration and botched circumcision, among other reasons.
“The decrease in the number of deaths needs to be commended. People have been arrested. We have cases of assaults in the North West and some in the Eastern Cape. The other big thing we have discovered is that some traditional surgeons cannot interpret the report compiled by a medical doctor before a boy undergoes the procedure.”
Mahlangu said this made it impossible for them to be able to understand if a soon-to-be initiate suffered from a condition or disease so that they could be given attention.
“Parents continue to let us down. In some cases you discover that it is the father that gives orders that an initiate should not be given water because they were not allowed to drink it when they underwent the procedure.”
He said they were working with various communities across the country and members from the National House of Traditional leaders would visit the families who lost their sons during initiation in December.