The strategic role of traditional leadership in promoting good governance

Abstract

Background: It is hypothesised that the limited roles and rights of traditional leadership in constitutional democracy in the selected case studies, being limited to involvement in mainly rural development and land administration has negatively affected the capacity of traditional leadership to positively impact good governance.

Aim: This article assesses the strategic role of traditional leadership in promoting good governance using the case of Botswana and South Africa.

Methods: This article adopted a qualitative literature review approach to collect and analyse secondary data. Diverse sources used include credible scholarly journal articles, books and policy documents. A thematic, systematic data analysis approach was used to analyse data. The trajectory for the methodology focussed on data identification, inclusion criteria, data screening and analysis.

Results: Key findings revealed that the problematic issue with traditional leadership roles is that their original rights have been curtailed by constitutional democracy in serving communities, mainly rural development strategy and land administration. This study revealed that limited autonomy challenges traditional leaders to support and realise good governance efforts fully.

Conclusion: This article demonstrated that there are gaps in the traditional governance models of South Africa and Botswana, as revealed to be impeding their plight to foster good governance.

Contribution: Findings from this study contribute to the existing knowledge and can assist traditional leaders in improving their mandate and their core existence by tapping into strategies to foster good governance.