Zulu king’s budget slashed

King Zwelithini’s household budget has been slashed by R9 million - more than 15% - in the 2016/2017 financial year.

Durban - King Zwelithini may be forced to cut his cloth to suit his royally reduced purse.

The royal household’s budget has been slashed by R9 million - more than 15% - in the 2016/2017 financial year.

The cut to the royal household is part of a larger cut to the budget of the Office of the Premier - down from R753.4m to R658.6m.

Tabling the budget in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Wednesday, Premier Senzo Mchunu said R48.8m had been allocated to the royal household.

Of this, R15m would be transferred to the Royal Household Trust for the expenses of the royal family and the upkeep of palaces, Mchunu said.

The king’s budget had been R54.2m and R57.6m in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years respectively.

Mchunu defended this year’s budget cuts, saying they were necessary due to austerity measures.

He said the chief directorate for the royal household would work with the royal household trust, to navigate the cuts.

Mchunu promised that support to the monarch would not be jeopardised, regardless of the cuts.

“We assure members that there are adequate measures to give support to the king.

“In terms of respect (to the king), we will do our utmost to succeed on this one,” Mchunu said. But, a part of his prepared speech, which he did not read in the legislature, focused on difficulties in funding the maintenance of royal palaces.

“The main challenge is the availability of funding for the renovation of palaces to enhance their potential fortourism projects.”

Mchunu said the trust would have to undertake fundraising for the maintenance of royal palaces through “aggressive” revenue generation programmes. The income generated was expected to augment the funds already committed by the provincial government.

In the prepared speech, Mchunu added that the trust would embark on commercialisation of the royal farms to generate more revenue to sustain the king; initiatives in line with its new mandate.

The IFP’s Blessed Gwala said the budget allocated to the trust was insufficient to meet the needs of the royal household.

“We can’t have the dignity of His Majesty being undermined in any way,” Gwala said.

The NFP’s Happy Khuzwayo said they hoped the affairs of trust would be turned around and be seen to be more produc-tive than they had been in the past.

Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said that as the leader of a nation facing increasing financial challenges, the king had to accept his budget would also be affected in these trying times.

“He has to stand with his subjects,” Khumalo said. And he was sure the king would, he added.

He said the provincial government’s move was nothing out of the ordinary and that budgets were cut in times of financial hardship.

“Even the premier’s department has been affected,” Khumalo said. “The only departments that have not been affected are health and education and I think we all understand the challenges these departments face.”

He did not believe the move would have any impact on the ANC’s campaign, ahead of the local government elections.

“We all know we are in economically challenging times. We all know we are in a drought and it has affected our lifestyles,” Khumalo said.

Daily News