The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the cause of the problem is linked to a duplication of functions with the Department of the Royal Household in the Office of the KwaZulu-Natal Premier. This results in a lack of clarity on exactly what money is being spent on, who is authorising it, and a duplication of the costs of administration.
The budget for the royal household department, which looks after King Goodwill Zwelithini (seen above with KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize), his wives and family, is used to support the king’s household with the maintenance of his cars, buying clothes for his queens, and paying his children’s school fees. The king’s spending allowance is R35,278 million.
The DA has now requested the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, to:
Conduct a comprehensive audit of the royal household’s expenditure for the past 3 financial years;
Implement checks and balances to ensure that expenditure is in line with approved budgets; and
Benchmark the Zulu royal household’s budget against that of other royal households supported by national and provincial funds.
It is time that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Head of the Royal Household Trust, the Office of the Premier, and the Director General in the Department of the Premier, all appear before the Portfolio Committee to account for this reckless expenditure and lack of control, and explain why taxpayers’ money is being wasted.
