Initiations deaths: practitioners must be provided with urgent training
The DA is deeply saddened to learn that the initiate death toll in the Eastern Cape has now risen to 22, from 16 last week. This brings the total initiate death toll across the country, in the last two months alone, to 62.
We remain concerned that not enough is being done to ensure that proper health regulations are in place at initiation schools across the country, despite numerous promises of action by the government.
Some of our schools have degenerated into money making schemes run by unscrupulous members of our communities who do not care about the well-being of the initiates. These individuals lack the proper skills and training to carry out the medical procedures necessary during the initiation process.
In the Western Cape, the Department of Cultural Affairs provides first aid training and protective clothing to initiation practitioners to ensure the safety of initiates. The DA calls on the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Health to conduct the same training and provide protective clothing at all initiation schools across the country. Should they not have this training, they must be closed down.
We also reiterate our call for a commission of inquiry to be established to setup a nationwide investigation into the conditions and running of our traditional schools. South Africa needs a full investigation into what is going wrong and what government needs to do to ensure the safety of all of our children.
Saving lives must be our top priority and the government must do everything in its power to put an end to this sad trend.
We simply cannot sit on our hands any longer while these deaths continue to take place. The time for promises is over. We must start to deliver on ensuring the safety of our children.
Statement issued by George Boinamo, DA Shadow Deputy Minister Governance and Traditional Affairs, July 1 2013
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