President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged traditional leaders to play a critical role in land reform and food security. He was addressing the House of Traditional Leaders in Parliament. Ramaphosa says the land issue will be handled with care and responsibility and that there should be no incidents of smash and grab

“We want you to play a critical role in this because when you play a critical role in food security we will be able to address the challenge that we face inland reform and agriculture. We have taken care to manage our processes carefully. We are now moving into another era where land is going to be made available to our people and as we do so we need to make sure that you continue playing a critical role in ensuring that there is food security.”

Cyril Ramaphosa says he’s fully committed to address issues raised by traditional leaders which range from land to unemployment. Ramaphosa says traditional leaders must be central in government strategy.

“Traditional leaders must be central to our national strategies to ignite what we would call inclusive rural development in the economic development. Your institution has a critical role to play in the delivery of nearly everything that can improve the lives of our people, be it roads, clinics, schools, economic development, you have a critical role to play.”