Tebogo Msimanga |
President of the Inkatha Freedom Party Velenkosini Hlabisa says since the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu in March 2021, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and Provincial Chairperson of the ANC, Sihle Zikalala, has repeatedly publicly accused the traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Monarch and Nation of exploiting, coercing and controlling the Zulu Royal Family. “It is clear that he neither respects nor understands the role of Undunankulu kaZulu.”
Hlabisa said Zikalala’s latest attack was sparked by the Mayor of the Zululand District Municipality raising concern about water accounts, during an intergovernmental strategic meeting to which the Premier had invited him. “It is the responsibility of the Premier’s Government to maintain the Royal households, thus the Municipality has a responsibility to flag any matters of concern.”
This is a governmental matter. It had nothing to do with the IFP, and nothing to do with Prince Buthelezi.
Hlabisa added that If one needed more evidence that he had lost the plot, the Premier then made an obscure reference to the late King Zwelithini having been “left stranded in a foreign country” requiring Madiba’s intervention. “It is impossible to know what he is referring to, and more impossible still to see how it relates to the IFP.”
“I caution the Premier to resist these urges to attack Prince Buthelezi, and the Party he founded, at every turn. If our integrity makes him so uncomfortable, he ought to try to emulate it, instead of pretending it’s a cheap trick that we’ve managed to sustain for 46 years.”
He further said Zikalala knows that he is undermining the dignity of the Zulu Royal Family, the institution of traditional leadership and the institution of the monarchy for the sake of trying to score political points against the IFP.
“The Zulu nation respects the unifying role of Undunankulu kaZulu. The Premier does himself no favours by accusing the IFP of dividing the nation.”
