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San Representation and Leadership
San society traditionally had a very flat structure and although some San groups did appoint a ‘leader', such an individual was usually highly accountable to the rest of the community.
Case Study
Traditional Leadership in Namibia
In Namibia , a ‘Council of Traditional Leaders' was set up by the Government in 1990, following Independence . These Traditional Leaders preside over a designated Traditional Authority (TA) area and are either recognised, or un-recognised by the Government. A recognised TA receives a place in the Government's Council of Traditional Leaders, financial support from the Government and the right to set up customary law under the Traditional Authority's Act.
To date, only four San TAs have been recognised by the Namibian Government – the Hai||om TA in Outjo and the !Xõó TA in Omaheke South, the !Kung TA in Tsumkwe West and the Ju'|hoansi TA in Tsumkwe East. |
Nowadays, many San communities look towards having their own leader or ‘chief' – often – for example in Namibia - this is in order to match the structures of other ethnic groups.
However, many San dispute the validity of such appointments – particularly where a democratic election has not taken place or where the designated leader has a strong party political affiliation. For this reason, WIMSA and the San came together in order to set up the concept of San Councils in order to provide a more democratic and participatory approach for all San in southern Africa.
The National San Councils aim to bring together and to strengthen San communities within each country. They foster a sense of unity for the San, so that they are better enabled to fight for their rights and to forge links with the public, other bodies and governments. It has always been an intrinsic aim of WIMSA to forge from these national San Councils - one Regional San Council. It is hoped that at some point in the future, this Regional San Council may take over the core functions of WIMSA in order to become the representative body of all San.
WIMSA provides some training and support to the San Councils if it is requested and the Councils formulate their own Constitutions, Code of Conduct, Terms of Reference and aims and objectives. WIMSA does its best to work with the San Councils to ensure that there is an equal gender balance, but unfortunately at the current time there are far more men than women represented on the Councils.
 South African San Council (SASC)
The SASC was the first San Council, established in 2001 and meets on a regular basis. Its main priorities were set in 2004 as; establishing locally based offices, providing training to SASC members, securing access rights to heritage sites for San, building links with museums and parks, identifying other San groups in southern Africa and negotiating entrance to the House of Chiefs in South Africa. An evaluation of the SASC's first years will be undertaken in 2006.
Namibian San Council (NSC)
The NSC was first established in 2003, but despite several training workshops, the first ‘acting' members did not possess the necessary capacity. WIMSA is now proactively seeking new members and the Namibian San Council will be re-established during 2006.
Botswanean San Council (BSC)
Following a number of planning meetings, a number of Botswanan San have come together to form the first BSC. The BSC will be officially launched in 2006.
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