The Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development is seeking to meet with Zulu King, Misuzulu KaZwelithini and other stakeholders to get to the bottom of the governance paralysis engulfing the Ingonyama Trust Board in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
The committee took this resolution on Tuesday (January 14) after an impromptu meeting to address the matter.
“The Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development has, at its meeting this morning, resolved to request a meeting with King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini following his suspension of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB).
“The committee has also resolved to conduct an oversight visit to the ITB to meet with all the relevant stakeholders to understand the challenges confronting the public entity,” the committee announced in a statement.
This follows weeks of a stand-off in the entity in charge of vast tribal land in KwaZulu-Natal. The challenges started late last month when King Misuzulu “suspended” six members of the board accusing them of undermining his authority as the chairperson of the board and sole trustee.
The King also “suspended” the chief executive officer, Adv Vela Mngwengwe and chief financial officer, Siyamdumisa Vilakazi. He also announced that there would be a forensic investigation into the trust.
That prompted the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mzwanele Nyhontso to issue a statement saying the King does not have the powers to suspend board members and that they lie in his office.
That sparked a heated argument between the King and Nyhontso. The committee wants that to come to an end now.
“The committee appealed to the minister, as the executive authority for the public entity, to resolve the ITB’s governance challenges within the confines of the law whilst recognising that the Board acts on behalf of the Trustee. A breakdown of trust and relations should be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the committee said in a statement signed off by its chairperson, MP Albert Mncwango from the IFP.
The committee added that it recognises the vital role that the ITB plays in managing the Ingonyama Trust land for the material benefit and well-being of the deserving communities.
“The suspension of the Board in its entirety can negatively affect the Ingonyama Trust’s business. It may exacerbate the operational and governance challenges faced by Ingonyama Trust and its subsidiary companies, such as Ingonyama Holdings,” it added.
