MEDIA RELEASE
2025-02-16
SUMMARY: The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) notes the extension of the National State of Disaster and cautions that disaster management must not be used to centralise power at the expense of provincial autonomy, municipal authority and traditional leadership. The Party reaffirms its federal vision of self-determination under a united constitutional framework and calls for cooperative governance that respects traditional authorities and local communities.
The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) notes the decision by the national executive, through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), to extend the National State of Disaster in response to severe weather conditions affecting several provinces.
Interim President Joseph Mathunjwa stated that while the Party recognises the seriousness of the disaster conditions, emergency powers must never become instruments of political centralisation.
“A disaster must never be used as an excuse to weaken provinces, silence municipalities, or bypass traditional authorities. South Africa belongs to its people and its communities, and the land belongs to traditional authorities such as Kings, Queens, and Chiefs, not to distant bureaucracies”, he said.
The extension of a National State of Disaster enables coordinated national intervention and resource mobilisation under the Disaster Management Act, 2002. However, South Africa’s constitutional framework establishes distinct spheres of government that are interdependent and interrelated, yet not subordinate to one another.
“Federalism is not fragmentation”, Mathunjwa said. “It is disciplined self-determination. Provinces must exercise meaningful autonomy within national norms, and traditional leaders must be treated as partners in governance, not spectators during crises”, he explained.
The Labour Party has consistently advocated for a strengthened federal system in which power is exercised closer to communities. In rural and peri-urban areas especially, traditional authorities remain central to land administration, community mobilisation, and social stability.
“In times of flood, fire, or infrastructure collapse, it is traditional leaders and local communities who act first”, Mathunjwa added. “To ignore them is not only disrespectful – it is ineffective governance”, he further added.
The Party further emphasised that any extension of emergency powers must be transparent, proportionate, and subject to strict parliamentary oversight. The temporary nature of disaster measures must remain precisely that – temporary.
The Labour Party firmly maintains that federalism, as a system of governance allowing for semi-autonomous states, would place meaningful power in the hands of the people of South Africa and strengthen democracy through disciplined self-determination.
Furthermore, the government should be doing far more to empower and support South Africans. Therefore, there must be genuine recognition of, and respect for, traditional authorities as legitimate pillars of governance.
“It is not disputed that the majority of South Africans share a heritage marked by pain, oppression, and the disregard for human dignity and life”, Mathunjwa said.
“Apartheid was a system of segregation designed to serve a minority. In order to achieve that segregation, it was not only racial but also territorial. But in a democratic dispensation genuinely founded on bringing power to the people and led by caring leadership, federalism will not only ensure interdependence, but it will restore agency, dignity, and decision-making power to traditional authorities”, Mathunjwa elaborated.
South Africa’s system of governance, on paper, provides for a separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and judiciary in order to prevent abuse and ensure accountability. In principle, this structure guards against the centralisation of authority. However, decisions such as the one in question risk undermining traditional authority, weakening provinces and municipalities, and concentrating power in the hands of a central elite.
“We have said it before, and we will say it again: Kings and Queens must be Kings and Queens, because they rule for life, while politicians serve for a term in office”, Mathunjwa stated. “This is precisely why sustainable transformation in communities remains elusive- politicians are often more concerned with their term in office than with the lived realities of citizens”, he further stated.
“We cannot allow South Africa to drift into a pattern where every crisis strengthens the centre and weakens the provinces”, Mathunjwa concluded. “A united South Africa must be built on self-determination, accountability, and respect for traditional authority. That is the federal future we stand for.”
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