Families who have members working in urban areas are economically better off compared to those dependent solely on subsistence farming and the rural economy. The village chief and other traditional leaders all have close relations with traditional ethnic authorities and with political party leaders. Their ability to influence decisions is considerably greater than that of the average villager. Moreover, they are all members of the dominant ethnic group. One would think that this would allow them to ride roughshod over the others.
Democracy is after all very new to South Africa.
Moreover, experience with democracy would not explain why unanimous decisions are valued more than those with majority support. Residents say it's because they respect the other residents and their opinions, and to ignore opposing minority views at a meeting would imply that those in the majority did not respect the views of the minority. Respect matters not just respect for the other person s religion or ethnicity but for the person himself It is much more polite, they assert, to try and put together a unanimous opinion even if it is time consuming. For the village leaders to try and compel those opposing them to alter their opinions is to also not show equal respect towards all. While the leaders certainly try to subvert the village meeting process, more often than not, they don't succeed.