By Celani Sikhakhane
- The DA has called on Chiliza to donate the SUV to an NGO, accusing him of double standards after his party criticised the vehicle programme.
- Chiliza says he gave up his traditional leadership salary and duties to his wife when he took his Legislature seat.
MKP’s Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza has denied claims that he is drawing two public salaries, after his wife accepted a R800,000 SUV from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on his behalf.
Queen Noluthando Chiliza, acting Chief of the eMadungeni Tribal Council, collected the vehicle at a handover in Durban last week Monday.
Cogta MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi gave out 35 vehicles to traditional leaders that day, part of a programme worth close to R20-million.
Scrolla.Africa previously reported on the handover and the criticism it drew.
DA KZN leader Sithembiso Ngema has now gone further, calling on Chiliza to donate the SUV to a local NGO instead of keeping it.
Ngema said Chiliza, who earns a salary of R1.4-million a year as MKP’s Leader of the Opposition in the Legislature, should not also benefit from a programme his own party publicly criticised.
Ngema also raised concerns that Chiliza could be drawing two public salaries at once, which he said is not allowed under the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act.
Chiliza rejected the claims.
He told Scrolla.Africa that the vehicle was not given to him, but to his wife, on behalf of the traditional council she leads. He said the MKP never opposed the vehicle rollout itself, only asked Cogta for clarity on where the funding came from, and was satisfied by the department’s explanation.
On the salary question, Chiliza said he relinquished all his traditional leadership duties, and the salary that comes with them, to his wife when he took up his seat in the Legislature.
He said the DA does not understand how the structure of traditional leadership works, and accused the party of playing “cheap politics.”
Cogta has maintained that the vehicle programme is not linked to the upcoming elections, and is meant to help traditional leaders carry out their work professionally.
Pictured above: Queen Noluthando Chiliza receiving the R800,000 SUV from Cogta on behalf of her husband, MKP legislature leader Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza.
Image source: KZNCOGTA
