CoGTA
Parents in the Eastern Cape are being urged to take extra precautions to protect boys entering initiation schools this summer, as the developing El Niño weather phenomenon raises the prospect of hotter and drier conditions across much of South Africa.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is forecasting above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall over much of the country during the 2026/27 summer season.
The warning is particularly important as initiates prepare to spend extended periods at initiation sites, where high temperatures, inadequate hydration and poorly constructed huts could put their health at risk.
Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson Pheello Oliphant says parents must ensure that boys remain hydrated and that appropriate materials are used to construct initiation lodges.
Black plastic warning as temperatures rise
Oliphant has specifically warned parents against using black plastic bags to construct initiation lodges, as the material attracts the sun.
“The parents are requested not to build or construct the initiation lodges with the black plastic because the black plastic attracts the sun,” he says.
He says parents must also ensure that initiates remain hydrated during the summer season.
“In that regard, the parents are requested to ensure that the initiates are hydrated.”
El Niño brings hotter, drier outlook
El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon caused by unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
These warming changes atmospheric circulation and influences weather patterns across the world, including rainfall and temperatures in southern Africa.
The World Meteorological Organization has warned that the current El Niño is expected to strengthen into a very strong event, potentially persisting into early 2027.
Parents urged to monitor initiates
Oliphant says parents must not abandon their children in the care of traditional nurses but should visit initiation schools regularly to monitor their well-being.
Parents are also required to complete the registration form, available on the department’s website and at traditional councils across the province.
Initiates must undergo medical pre-screening by a general practitioner and receive medical certificates before attending initiation schools.
The requirements form part of the Customary Initiation Act of 2021, which regulates initiation practices and sets out the responsibilities of parents, traditional leaders and initiation school operators.
The legislation prohibits boys under the age of 16 from attending initiation schools, while those aged 16 and 17 require written consent from themselves and their parents or guardians.
Initiation schools must also comply with health and safety requirements, including providing access to clean water, proper sanitation and food.
Previous deaths prompt calls for accountability
The safety warnings come after 48 initiates died nationwide during the 2025 summer initiation season, with the Eastern Cape and Free State recording the highest number of fatalities.
Dehydration, poor hygiene, medical neglect and botched circumcisions were among the reported causes.
The deaths prompted Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to meet with the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities and the Commission for Gender Equality.
The engagement followed the deaths of 28 young people in the Eastern Cape during the same summer season.
Hlabisa highlighted the need to scrutinise cultural practices that put lives at risk, saying that “serious discourse and proactive solutions must be prioritised to preserve life and cultural integrity”.
Among the recommendations was the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of initiation deaths.
The meeting also called for stronger law enforcement, increased arrests and prosecutions, and greater accountability from initiation school principals, traditional surgeons and caregivers.
Government says traditional leaders and other stakeholders must play a more active role in ensuring that the Customary Initiation Act is implemented.
Oliphant’s message to parents is clear: “Let them go alive and return home alive.”
Staff Writer
www.algoafm.co.za