TRADITIONAL leaders had a crucial role to play in helping the government fight poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment, said Deputy President Baleka Mbete.

Giving an address on the last day of the National House of Traditional Leaders’ lekgotla outside Pretoria on Friday, she said “we have to join hands to restore hope in the social fabric of the family and empower women so that the anti- poverty strategy is efficient”.

The strategy included the creation of opportunities through jobs or self-employment; investment in human capital by providing education and training; income security through safety nets for the vulnerable; the transfer of basic services by expanding access to water and electricity; and improving healthcare, especially for poor children.

The draft strategy also sought to provide access to assets such as land and capital; social capital initiatives; environmental sustainability; and good governance by facilitating pro- poor policies.

“We will rely on this house to spread the message down to all traditional leaders and communities across the country to support this initiative, by ensuring that all people who live in poverty benefit from the interventions that will come as a result of this draft strategy,” said Mbete.

She said traditional leaders were aware of the levels of poverty in their localities, and that these problems existed mostly in rural areas.

“Our challenges as a country are enormous and therefore we cannot spare any effort to address poverty and all its negative consequences, especially for the poorest of the poor in rural areas.”

Mbete also wished the 2008 matriculants well in their exams, adding that education was crucial to making poverty a problem of the past. — Sapa