The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) held another public hearing on the Traditional and Khoi-San Bill at the Toll Speelman Hall, in Upington on Saturday.
Committee Chairperson, Richard Mdakane, says the communities have been coming out in numbers at the hearings in the Northern Cape province thus far.
“They were very positive, they made very fruitful contributions on the Bill that is before Parliament. And in Kuruman people made a lot of contributions but of course as they participate they raised the question of land. That it’s difficult to have a chief without land and they said the land issue must be sped up, in terms of land restitution,” he says.
“I think they [as the communities] think it’s the beginning of trying to normalise their traditions as the Khoi and San,” he adds.
The Bill, which will provide constitutional recognition of the legitimate Khoi and San leadership and communities, has been in the legislative pipeline for 19 years.
The hearings will next move to Springbok. These public hearings will also be held in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape in 2017 when Parliament reopens.
Moeketsi Mogotsi/Courant News
 held public hearing on Traditional and Khoi-San Bill at Toll Speelman Hall, in Upington on Saturday.){kind=link}