We, the undersigned, oppose the implementation of the Traditional Health Practitioners Regulations 2024 as published in the Government Gazette on 21 June 2024. We believe that these regulations, drafted without meaningful consultation with traditional healers, pose a serious threat to our heritage, practices, and cultural rights. Our Concerns 1. Regulation of Spirit is Impossible: • Traditional healing is guided by spiritual forces that cannot be regulated by law or standardised through formal education. The proposed regulations fail to understand the nature of spiritual practices, which are inherently personal, unique, and cannot be controlled or predicted. • Clause 7(1), which imposes minimum age and education levels for students of traditional healing, demonstrates a lack of understanding. We cannot regulate when a person, especially a child, is called by the spirit to begin their healing journey, as this calling is beyond human control. 2. Dangerous Misinterpretations: • These regulations endanger both healers and the communities they serve by attempting to restrict spiritual practices to specific time frames and formalised training. This undermines the sacred and organic way in which traditional knowledge is passed down, often through spiritual initiation and lifelong mentorship. • Attempting to formalise or regulate such processes puts unnecessary pressure on spiritual practitioners and creates a harmful environment where those whose calling does not fit into these arbitrary standards are marginalised or excluded. 3. Incorrect Categorisation of Traditional Healers: • The definitions and categories of spiritual workers in the regulations do not accurately reflect the diversity of traditional healing practices. These categories oversimplify the depth and breadth of spiritual work, and the definitions proposed are flawed and limiting. • We demand that traditional healers, elders, and Indigenous Knowledge Practitioners be fully involved in drafting regulations that impact us. Without our input, these regulations are incomplete and culturally inappropriate. 4. Lack of Consultation: • The consultation process for these regulations has been grossly inadequate, particularly for healers in rural and marginalised areas. We cannot accept regulations that do not include the voices of the very people they are meant to govern. • Relying on email submissions as the sole or primary method of gathering public input is insufficient and inaccessible for many traditional healers. This method does not allow for the meaningful, in-depth consultation that is required to fully understand the complex nature of our practices. 5. Violation of Constitutional Rights: • The proposed regulations violate our constitutional rights to self-determination, freedom of association, and the protection of our Indigenous Knowledge. They undermine the cultural and spiritual significance of traditional healing, which is an integral part of South Africa’s heritage. Our Demands • Immediate halt to the implementation of the Traditional Health Practitioners Regulations 2024 until a thorough and inclusive consultation process has been conducted with traditional healers from all regions and backgrounds. • Respect for the organic and spiritual nature of traditional healing practices by removing any clauses that attempt to regulate the unregulatable aspects of spiritual work, such as when and how a person is called to become a healer. • Involvement of traditional healers and Indigenous Knowledge Practitioners in the drafting of future regulations to ensure that they reflect the realities of our practices and honour the cultural and spiritual significance of traditional healing. • A review of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007, which is outdated and does not align with the current Constitution or other laws protecting Indigenous Knowledge.