By Celani Sikhakhane
The fight over the land of the Zulu nation has come under the spotlight again after the traditional prime minister, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, revealed that the ANC is planning to strip the monarchy of powers over the land in the Ingonyama Trust.
Buthelezi was speaking on Thursday before the matter was heard at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday.
He said the ANC, through Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza, wants to take away the powers of traditional leaders to sign Permission to Occupy (PTO) the land. A PTO provides confirmation, in writing, that the land being occupied was lawfully allocated to the occupant.
“As we speak the Minister is taking the Ingonyama Trust to court over this matter,” said Buthelezi.
“Another attempt to undermine rural communities and traditional leadership structure in KZN is that till today the House of Traditional Leadership and Khoi-San has not been convened while other provinces have officially opened their houses.”
He said that in KwaZulu-Natal they don’t want to do that until elections simply because they fear that the king might expose their plot over the land of the Zulu nation.
It is also alleged that the provincial government through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is planning to reduce the land owned by rural families.
Instead they want each family to only own the yard, not the ancestral land that is outside the yard.
Rural communities in KZN own hectares of land which they have used for expansion of family building sites or agricultural purposes including burials.
Didiza has denied these allegations and claims that the traditional prime minister is misleading the public.
She said she can’t be directly involved in the operation of the Ingonyama Trust and its land.
The fight over the Ingonyama Trust land started during the time of the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu who even threatened to call for a war over it.
The threats were made after former deputy president Kgalema Mothlanthe had released his panel report that suggested that the Ingonyama Trust should be scrapped.
The ANC Youth League is also calling for Ingonyama Trust land to be scrapped as they claim that Zulus should not be treated as VIPs within South Africa.
Pictured above: Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza rejected claims that they want to steal the land of the Zulu nation.
Image source: X