Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini on Thursday said he was vehemently opposed to government attempts to take control of the land held under the Ingonyama Trust and attempts to liquidate Ithala Bank.
Delivering his address during the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, the king said these two institutions were very important to him and as king they fell under his custodianship.
He described Ithala as a heritage asset of the Zulu nation and announced that as traditional leadership they have a dream of a new Ithala where traditional leaders will have a stake.
The South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority (PA) has made an application to liquidate Ithala bank, a KwaZulu-Natal government-owned entity, with the PA citing in court papers that the bank’s liabilities exceed its assets, justifying its application as a measure to protect customer deposits.
Misuzulu said that he would request a meeting with the KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli so that he can make a proposal on how traditional leaders will own a stake in the bank, which he said was established by their parents. The king further vowed to defend the embattled bank together with Premier Ntuli and President Cyril Ramaphosa
“Ithala is our heritage, the vision to establish it is still important as it was when it was established.
"That is why, in conjunction with the Premier and the President, I will be part (of the initiative) to save this bank which was established by our parents,” he said.
Misuzulu said saving the bank did not mean they would save those who were corrupt within the bank, adding that some had contributed to the problems that had brought the bank where it is now.
Regarding the Ingonyama Trust, Misuzulu said he wanted people to know that the land under the Ingonyama Trust was not handed to him on a silver platter but was fought for by the forefathers of the Zulu nation.
Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso has stated that Misuzulu acted beyond his powers by suspending members of the Ingonyama Trust Board, asserting that such authority rests solely with the minister.
Without naming Nyhontso, Misuzulu said there is no Minister who can boast that he controls the land of the Zulus.
The king said he was making these remarks as there are people within the government who think that placing the land under the Ingonyama Trust was done as a favour.
Ngiyobe ngikuphi mina, ekephi aMakhosi wona uZulu usukephi seliphathwa ngungqongqoshe leli lamadelamzimba?
(Where will I be, where will traditional leaders and Zulus be when the Minister takes the land of martyrs)
Njengobaba ongizalayo angiyena umuntu wempi kepha futhi angisona isithutha noma ivaka. Mphemba ngikhuzeleni laba abasifaka umunwe esweni. Asisathandi. Kabangalokothi bakhombe iSihlalo ngomunwe , leli yizwe lamahwanqa, yizwe laMakhosi neZindlovukazi, yizwe leZinyandezulu. Lelizwe nalesi sizwe ngeke sife ngathi, ngakho abantu kabayeke ukusifaka umunwe esweni.
(Like my father, I am not a violent person or a person of war, however, I am not stupid or a coward. Premier, please tell these people to stop putting their fingers in our eyes (an act of provocation). We are fed up, they must not undermine the throne, this land belongs to kings and queens, It's a land of ancestors. This land and this nation will not be destroyed under us and people must stop provoking us).