The Chairperson of Moral Regeneration Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa has called for the promotion of sound family and community values as part of the moral regeneration and social cohesion drive. Father Mkhatshwa was speaking on the role of religion in fostering social cohesion and morality during the two-day Provincial Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration Summit that commenced in Mahikeng on Monday.

“We must promote that which is good for the soul. Churches have a critical role to play in moral regeneration because we need to build a society of people who respect others and uphold the values of honesty and integrity,” said Father Mkhatshwa.

Speaking on the role of traditional leadership to promote and preserve indigenous cultures and knowledge, Chairperson of North West House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi Madoda Zibi said traditional leaders play a critical role in building a socially cohesive society. “Dikgosi have to act in the interest of the people in what they do or what they say,” said Kgosi Zibi.

Also speaking at the summit Judge President of the North West High Court, Honourable Justice Monicca Leeuw said the judiciary was in the process of establishing monitoring norms and standards that would enhance the performance of the courts to ensure that the courts were easily accessible, and that justice could be delivered effectively and speedily, as part of the judiciary to enhance the quality of life of the people of South Africa.

“The rights of the people and the society entrenched in the Bill of Rights directly impact on how we go about administering our duties as the judiciary. If cases take long to be finalised and are being postponed several times, both the accused and witnesses are usually adversely affected,” said Justice Leeuw.

Justice Leeuw said the Chief Justice has also established a national Efficiency Enhancement Committee comprising of all stakeholders responsible for the administration of justice in order to address issues that may hamper and delay the administration of justice in our courts.

Dr Willem Langveldt of the South African San Institute said the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods and knowledge systems would go a long way in addressing the erosion of indigenous knowledge that was enforced through the processes of colonialism, apartheid and globalization.“Indigenous communities are able to reclaim and revalue their languages and traditions, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students, and thus ensuring their survival as a culture,” said Langveldt.Langveldt said Indigenous knowledge was particularly important to modern environmental management that is eluding much of the modern world.“Environmental and land management strategies traditionally used by indigenous peoples have continued relevance. Indigenous cultures usually live in a particular bioregion for many generations and have learned how to live there sustainably. In modern times, this ability often puts truly indigenous cultures in a unique position of understanding the interrelationships, needs, resources, and dangers of their bioregion,” added Langveldt.He said the inclusion of aspects of indigenous education requires us to acknowledge that there are multiple forms of knowledge, standards, and benchmark systems.