Limpopo suspends winter initiation over Covid-19 spread fears

THE LIMPOPO House of Traditional Leaders has suspended the winter initiation season to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Chairperson Kgoshi Malesela Dikgale said the decision to suspend initiation was informed by the threat of the spread of Covid-19 and thus save the lives of the initiates.

He said: “Covid-19 is still with us even though we are on level 1 of the lockdown. It is also speculated that we might enter the third wave and more people are going to be affected.”

The season has been postponed for the second year running due to the pandemic that continues to wreak havoc across the world.

However, this decision has not come without backlash from some traditional leaders and parents of initiates, who have complained that the government could take precautions as the season was under way.

Lucas Seoka, the parent of a 17-year-old boy who was to be an initiate last year before the first postponement, said to the Pretoria News:

“I’m disappointed at this decision. It’s been two years that my son can’t practise his families’ cultural beliefs. I think the government could have prepared better at the schools, and admitted minimal initiates. Next year my son is 18. He has to attend university.”

Dikgale added that the House was more than willing to engage those that had concerns about the suspension of initiation schools.

“As the chairperson of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders, I can confirm that we are ready to sit down with relevant stakeholders to address issues relating to initiation schools and practices.”

MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs Basikopo Makamu called on parents, initiates and traditional leaders to prioritise saving lives.

“We want to say, as government, that we subscribe to these cultural beliefs, but we have to be cautious so we can save lives. We hope that by next year the pandemic would have been over and the initiation season can resume.

“We are aware of the concerns of not only initiates and parents, but also traditional leaders. But what we have done is to compare cultural practices. We are concerned that if we continue with the initiation season and one child dies we would look careless.

“In the province of Limpopo, we usually have 200 to 500 initiates in one school.

“There won’t be social distancing of any sort … The department works together with the Department of Health which right now is channelling all its resources to the fight against Covid-19.”