More initiation schools for Limpopo

There will be more than 720 Koma (initiation) schools in Limpopo this winter, Premier Stan Mathabatha said on Friday.

House of Traditional Leaders

The province’s premier was speaking at the official opening of the House of Traditional Leaders in Moletji, outside the province’s capital of Polokwane.

The event was attended by among others, the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Housing and Traditional Affairs, Basikop Makamu, officials from the Limpopo Legislature, Members of the Executive Council from different portfolios, councillors, headmen and leaders of religious formations.

720 permits issued for Koma schools

Mathabata said there were no fewer than 720 permits issued for Koma schools to be opened in Limpopo this winter. They would admit and enrol boys from Sekhukhune, Vhembe, Capricorn, Waterberg and Mopani regions to undergo the important rite to passage.

The premier said Koma schools should be centres where school principals taught the boys morals, responsibilities and discipline in an effort to rebuild a society that’s being ravaged by all kinds of ills, including gender-based violence.

“In our engagement before this event today, the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC) has impressed upon me that the process for the 2023 Koma season is well under way.

“I am pleased to reveal to you that over 79 000 initiates last year successfully went through this rite of passage in Limpopo.

“As a province, we are determined to continue working with traditional leaders to ensure this important rite of passage is carried out with the utmost respect for the rights and dignity of all participants,” said Mathabatha.

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He said that in line with the new legislation, the House of Traditional Leaders and Khoisan Act, traditional leaders fully participated in the PICC.

Illegal schools condemned

He said the PICC was charged with the responsibility of coordinating and ensuring the smooth running of Koma schools in the province.

“We should strive for compliance and implement action.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms those who want to run illegal schools, especially in the Sekhukhune region. We are calling on our law enforcement agencies to clamp down on those operating without permits.”

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Mathabatha added that Limpopo would not tolerate ill-disciplined Koma school principals intent on spoiling the good record of the province which he said had been running good Koma schools for years.

He said the province would also not tolerate Koma school owners who ran these schools for the sake of generating profits.