In most communal areas, traditional leaders, such as headmen, chiefs, indunas and kings, are fully involved in land-use planning and development. A Council of Traditional Leaders is established to assist the President with the administration and control of communal land.

These leaders are mostly men with few exceptions, such as the Nama in the south of the country. As of 2005, there are currently 86 recognized traditional authority leaders in the country, of whom only two are women. Section 3[g] of the Traditional Authorities Act states that traditional authorities should promote affirmative action, particularly with regard to positions of leadership, as required by the Constitution (14).

Traditional authorities also function to promote peace and welfare among community members and to supervise and ensure that the community members observe the customary law of that community (14).

Communal Land Boards (CLBs) have been established in 12 regions. They administer the system of granting, recording and cancelling customary land rights, in consultation with traditional authorities. CLBs include representatives of the traditional authorities, farming community, regional council, women, the public service and conservancies in their area of jurisdiction (14).

The role of traditional leaders on land tenure matters is now limited because of the CLBs. Some traditional authorities are not formally recognized under the Traditional Authorities Act; as a result, they cannot be included in the CLBs. In return, they do not abide by the decisions of the boards (14).