Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso has appointed a 12-member team to review the Ingonyama Trust Board's performance
Image: Supplied by parliament
In an apparent endorsement of Amazulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's decision to fire the Ingonyama Trust Board, Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has appointed a 12-member team to review the performance of the board and make recommendations to him on whether it must be retained or dissolved.
This was confirmed by the king’s representative, Prince Gumbela Zulu, on Tuesday after Nyhontso met with the king. Zulu did not clarify whether the board members will remain at the Trust's office in Pietermaritzburg during the review period.
The meeting between the two leaders was scheduled for 11am on Tuesday at Kwakhangelamankengane palace in Nongoma north of KwaZulu-Natal but started after 3pm.
Speaking to the media after the meeting yesterday, the minister said the team will be given terms of reference and the timeframe on when to complete its investigation.
Prince Zulu said the king first briefly met Nyhontso and his deputy together with the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize before the minister and his delegation met traditional leaders and headmen.
The Prince said the minister first apologised to the king for utterances Nyhontso had made that suggested that the king was interfering in the affairs of the Ingonyama Trust Board. Nyhontso brought three cattle as a gift, with the promise of a fourth to be delivered at a later date to signify his apology to the king.
“The meeting was fruitful and all parties left happy. I think whether the board continues with its function will depend on the recommendations of the team that was set up to probe its performance and its behaviour towards the king,” said Zulu.
During an imbizo (mass gathering) which was held two weeks ago at one of the king's palaces in Pongola, north-east of KwaZulu-Natal, Misuzulu's former traditional prime minister Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi told traditional leaders and headmen that in the meeting with Nyhontso in July last year, the king had asked him (the Minister) to remove the board but Nyhontso did not do so. He said the Minister’s indecision forced the king to dissolve the board himself.
Nyhontso and the king had been at loggerheads over the control of the Trust after the king fired the board only for it to be reinstated by Nyhontso who told the king that it was he who had powers to remove the board, not the king.
The king had harsh words for the minister during his address at the opening of the provincial legislature last week. Without mentioning him by name, the king said there was no minister who could claim to control the land of Zulus, adding that although he was not a violent person, he was neither stupid nor a coward.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za
