Chapter 12 of the South African Constitution opens the door for traditional leadership institutions to exercise a public role at the local level of government. The wording of this chapter was subject to contestation before the Constitution came into force, and its interpretation has been debated since. What does it mean for traditional authorities to have a constitutionally recognised role in South Africa, and what should be the extent of their powers? While these debates continue, the South African parliament continues to develop new laws that determine traditional authorities’ role in relation to specific government functions, including land administration and dispute resolution. Parliamentary processes thus create new opportunities for public debates about traditional authorities’ place within South Africa. At the same time, government has continued to provide roles for traditional authorities through parallel processes that have largely gone unnoticed by the public. This article attempts to explore the scope of these unseen roles and lay the foundation for assessing whether they could withstand constitutional scrutiny. In a context where traditional authorities are paid by government but not held to the same standards of accountability as government officials, what are the inherent dangers in providing these roles to traditional authorities and how can accountability be ensured?

《南非宪法》第12章为传统的领导机构在地方政府中发挥公共作用打开了大门。在《宪法》生效之前，本章的措词尚需争论，此后其解释一直在争论。传统权威机构在南非具有宪法认可的作用意味着什么，其职权范围应是什么？在继续进行这些辩论的同时，南非议会继续制定新的法律，以决定传统当局在包括土地管理和争议解决在内的特定政府职能方面的作用。因此，议会程序为公众辩论南非传统权威机构的地位创造了新的机会。同时，政府一直在通过并行程序为传统机构提供角色，而这些程序在很大程度上并未为公众所关注。本文试图探索这些看不见的角色的范围，并为评估它们是否能够经受宪法审查奠定基础。在传统机构由政府支付但未与政府官员遵循相同的问责标准的情况下，向传统机构提供这些角色的固有危险是什么？如何确保问责制？