The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is expected to headline the Annual Chief’s Conference in Bulawayo on Wednesday where he will address more than 800 delegates comprising mostly traditional leaders.
The conference will for the first time include more than 500 headmen drawn from all over the country who will join more than 250 chiefs who have traditionally attended the annual meeting. Director of Communication and Advocacy in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Mr Gabriel Masvora confirmed that the ministry will be hosting the conference saying President Mnangagwa was expected to officially open it on Wednesday.
Mr Gabriel Masvora
“The Annual Chiefs Conference is set to commence this Tuesday and it will encompass all chiefs and headmen in the country. President Mnangagwa will officially open the conference on Wednesday.
“They are going to interact with various ministries so either the ministers or permanent secretaries will attend the conference. This year’s conference will be attended by headmen for the first time so we are expecting more than 800 delegates comprising more than 250 chiefs as well 500 headmen,” said Mr Masvora.
The Second Republic has reiterated that chiefs are key cogs in the governance and development architecture of the nation as they play an important role of safeguarding the rich cultural heritage, traditions, and customs, while ensuring broad-based empowerment and a better quality of life for the people. The deputy president of the Chief’s Council, Chief Mtshane Khumalo said although the agenda had not yet been finalised, some of the issues that were expected to be discussed include the welfare of the traditional leaders.
Chief’s Council, Chief Mtshane Khumalo
“We have not received the agenda but we are set to converge on Bulawayo for our annual traditional leaders’ conference which starts on Tuesday.
“We expect the President to officially open the conference and address us. Generally, the conferences tackles issues to do with the welfare of traditional leaders as well as the development of the communities that we lead,” said Chief Mtshane.
He said the inclusion of the headmen was a milestone development as it would aid in the dissemination of information into the communities.
“This will be the first time to have headmen being part of this conference as it has traditionally been exclusive to chiefs. This means a lot to me as it enhances the dissemination of information. They can immediately disseminate information to the village heads other than chiefs going through the headmen which makes the processes longer,” said Chief Mtshane.
The Second Republic has seen a lot more recognition of traditional leaders and they have been included in a number of programmes. The Government last year started giving chiefs, headmen and village heads inputs to revive the Isiphala Senkosi concept to ensure food security in communities while a number of projects have been lined up to address welfare issues.
Isiphala Senkosi is a grain reserve that is located within chiefs’ homesteads and provides food for vulnerable members of the community especially during times of drought. The Isiphala Senkosi programme was traditionally reserved for chiefs, but in April last year, Cabinet resolved to extend it to all traditional leaders countrywide. – @nyeve14.
