Parliament’s portfolio committee on land affairs and rural development was forced to discuss issues of the Ingonyama Trust with other people after Zulu King Misuzulu left the meeting early, citing ill-health.
The committee, chaired by Member of Parliament (MP) Albert Mncwango from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) was in Nongoma on Monday to meet with the Zulu King at KwaKhangela royal palace.
The Ingonyama Trust, which administers vast hectares of land on behalf of Zulu people, is at the centre of a bitter power battle between King Musuzulu and Mzwanele Nyhontso, the Minister of Land Affairs and Rural Development.
According to Mncwango, despite the King leaving early, the meeting was a success.
“We are extremely happy that our day was successful. The King came to welcome us and sent a high powered delegation to discuss issues with us, because he is not feeling well.
“We actually gained a lot of insight into how the King actually feels about the developments within the Ingonyama Trust,” Mncwango said in a statement after the meeting.
The meeting came amid tension between the Zulu monarch the government over powers to suspend members of Ingonyama Trust Board.
The government says King Misuzulu does not have the power to suspend the board members as that is Nyhontso’s responsibility.
On the other hand, the King insists he can suspend the board as the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust.
Mncwango added that the committee went into the meeting to listen and to request an explanation on issues that the King has publicly raised about the Trust Board.
“The committee observed with interest the developments in the ITB (Ingonyama Trust Board). We decided that whilst we are in KwaZulu-Natal for [an] oversight visit which includes ITB, we should request an audience with the Majesty,” Mncwango added.
The IFP MP admitted that the Zulu King raised a number of concerns regarding the functioning of the ITB.
“As an oversight body over the Minister, we thought it was important for us to pay a visit to Your Majesty with intension to receive counsel about Your Majesty’s concerns and how these issues can be resolved. We believe that His Majesty’s insights can help this committee as it engages with the Minister and the ITB,” he said.
Furthermore, Mncwango said the delegation of the King shared with the committee some of the issues that were sharply discussed at the recent Isibaya meeting, and where some of the resolutions were taken by Amakhosi.
“Luckily, we are meeting Amakhosi and we are hopeful that they will be able to go deeper into those issues that might give us a clue towards getting a lasting intervention into the whole matter,” he said.
