W Cape's R3.2m initiation village
Nombini Matomela
3 March 2004
The Western Cape government has unveiled 650 hectares of land to be used to establish an Initiation Village (Ebakhwetheni) for the communities around Driftsands Nature Reserve outside Cape Town.
The village is the first of its kind in South Africa, and is expected to provide an invaluable service for over half a million people housed within a 5km radius of Driftsands.
Driftsands is a proclaimed nature reserve a few kilometres outside Cape Town, situated close to Khayelitsha, Delft, Mfuleni and Brentwood Park - largely impoverished areas on the Cape Flats.
The City of Cape Town has provided R2-million for the pilot project, with another R1.2-million coming from the province's department of environmental affairs. The Western Cape Nature Conservation Board, the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, and cultural organisation Unqulo Lwase Afrika are also involved in the project.
"Today marks the start of a journey which will
see the Western Cape government take a lead role in providing a safe and regulated environment for traditional initiation practices", cultural affairs, sport and recreation MEC Patrick McKenzie said at the sod-turning ceremony on Tuesday.
McKenzie said that the centuries-old practice of initiation, a rite of passage into manhood for many indigenous southern African people, "belongs not to government but with the communities themselves. It is our communities who possess the reservoirs of knowledge connected to this ancient practice."
Environmental affairs and development planning MEC Johan Gelderblom said the project aims to provide a clean, safe and healthy environment for initiation, preventing the deaths of initiates "by using aggregate health standards and practises and encouraging the training of traditional surgeons and nurses".
The MECs appealed to the surrounding communities to cooperate with government in order to minimise problems associated with
initiation schools.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to the problems that are associated with initiation schools", McKenzie said. "I am referring to the totally unnecessary deaths associated with crude initiation practices, as well as the risks of infection with HIV/Aids and other diseases.
"These are dangers which can be countered, and the Driftsands Initiation Project is an attempt to set aside land and facilities so that our people can practise their culture in a safe and dignified environment."
Source: BuaNews
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