In the ongoing struggle over decision-making authority within the KwaZulu-Natal-based land entity Ingonyama Trust, the ANC has thrown a wrench in the works.
Former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, who is now the deputy coordinator in the reorganised structure, did not apologise when responding to Sunday World’s questions.
“The people of KwaZulu-Natal own the land that is part of the Ingonyama Trust. All of it is held in trust, and the KZN people are the ones who hold it in trust.
“That is what the Communal Land Act states,” Dube stated.
Dube was joined by party veteran Jeff Radebe and ANC heavyweight Mike Mabuyakhulu, who is well-known in the province.
Radebe and Mabuyakhulu are conveners and provincial coordinators, respectively.
Given that the AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has been involved in a sour dispute with the Ingonyama Trust board, Dube’s remarks could be interpreted as a criticism directed at the king.
Probe into financial matters of the trust
The king believes that his word is the final arbiter in the Ingonyama Trust. He also wants to be given veto powers to appoint the trust’s board.
The king disbanded the board earlier in the year and ordered an investigation into the trust’s financial matters.
His decision was reversed, though, by Mzwanele Nyhontso, the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, who claimed the king lacked the authority to dissolve the board.
In an attempt to patch things up, Nyhontso met with the king this week at KwaKhangelamankengane, the king’s ancestral palace in Nongoma.
ANC heavyweight Zweli Mkhize, who is the chairperson of parliament’s portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs, was part of a high-level government delegation that accompanied Nyhontso.
Following a lengthy meeting with the king, Mkhize declared that a 12-person committee would be formed to examine the board’s performance.
The group will then offer suggestions regarding the retention or resolution of the board.
The trust was created to administer nearly 3-million hectares of tribal land that belonged to the KwaZulu government at the time, just before the first democratic elections were held in 1994.
Sole trustee of Ingonyama Trust
It was a product of a negotiated settlement between the IFP’s founder, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and those who negotiated the post-apartheid smooth transition.
The IFP had made an ultimatum that it would forfeit its participation in the elections unless there was a guarantee that amakhosi (traditional leaders) and their subjects were guaranteed land, which would be controlled by the king of AmaZulu.
As the reigning king, Misuzulu is the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust while the board conducts its day-to-day operations.
The strategic nature of the entity saw, for the first time since its inception, the king installing himself as the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust board.
Besides controlling prime land, which is often highly sought after by property developers and multinationals, the entity also collects millions of rands in rental fees from various government departments and private individuals leasing Ingonyama land.
This includes mining royalties for mining companies conducting their operations on the land owned by the trust.
