Durban — In what could strain the seemingly cordial relationship between the national government under President Cyril Ramaphosa and King Misuzulu, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has nullified the king’s decision to dissolve the Ingonyama Trust Board.

Last week, King Misuzulu shockingly announced the sacking of the entire board including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, taking over all the powers as the board’s chairperson. The king had accused the board of financial mismanagement and had appointed a law firm to institute a forensic investigation spanning the past five years. However, in a countering statement on Monday, the minister read the riot act to the king, reminding him he did not own the Trust.

In a hard-hitting statement, Nyhontso told the king that it was him, not the king, who had powers to remove the board, thereby nullifying the king’s decision to sack the board.

“I have learned about the suspension of the Ingonyama Trust Board following a letter from the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust, His Majesty King Misuzulu, dated 24th December. I am also aware of subsequent developments in which the suspension was done by one Stephen Jabulani Rakwena, purportedly acting on behalf of His Majesty King Misuzulu.

Section 2A(3)(b) and (c) of the (Ingonyama Trust) Act empowers the minister to appoint eight of the board members, to designate a vice-chairperson of the board since the king, as sole trustee, is also the chairperson of the Trust, and lastly to make regulations. The appointment of the board members is after consultations as provided for in subsections (b) and (c). This act further empowers the minister to make regulations,” read the statement.

“From the above provisions of both the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act) and the Ingonyama Trust Act, it is evident that only the minister appoints the board in terms of the act and the PFMA further empowers the minster to appoint or remove, and by extension suspend the members of the board as the entity’s executive authority. It therefore follows that the king acted ultra vires by suspending the members of the board, this power is solely placed on the minister.”

The minister further clarified the issue of ownership of the Trust, again reminding the king that as the executive authority, he (the minister) exercised control over the Trust as prescribed by Section 1 of the PFMA.

On the commissioning as well as appointment of the service provider to conduct the investigation, the minister said that again the king acted ultra vires in that he did so outside of and without the board.

“The decision to suspend the board members and action of the king to choose to run the board on his own, with the ‘sole unaffected board member’, not only flies in the face of good corporate governance but will also not stand legal scrutiny if challenged. The consequence of these actions that are ultra vires is that the board remains in office until the minister decides otherwise, even then only after following proper processes,” concluded the statement.

The government’s decision is likely to spark anger among the loyal Zulus who will construe this as stripping their king of his birth right over his kingdom’s land. In 2019, President Ramaphosa had to fly to the province to calm waters and assured the late king Zwelithini that the government would not expropriate the land under the king’s control through Ingonyama Trust. It was after the king publicly threatened that there would be blood on the floor when addressing amabutho (warriors) in an imbizo he had called in Ulundi. In that meeting, the king called on amabutho to be ready for war in defence of their ancestral land.

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