Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Njohontso; (OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nihontso has accused King Miszulu Kazwelithini of acting beyond his authority by suspending members of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB), saying that the authority effectively rests with the king himself. said.
The Zulu monarch last week suspended ITB's board members, including its chief executive officer and chief financial officer, pending an investigation into alleged breaches of the Public Finance Management Act.
However, board members said in a statement on Friday that the Crown does not have the power to suspend Ingonyama Trust officials, citing a “surprising” decision in early December when Mr Miszuru notified him of Stephen Jabulani's appointment. He added that the move was made in response to the letter. Lakwena of Van Rensburg Krueger Lakwena will assume the role of certain trustee. ITB said last week's letter suspending most of its board meetings was distributed by Lakwena.
On Monday, Nyohontso said that in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Ingonyama Trust Act, only the Minister of Lands appoints the Ingonyama Trust Board.
“The PFMA further empowers the Minister as an executive authority for the organization to appoint, dismiss, and even suspend members of the board of directors. Therefore, the Crown committed the very egregious act of suspending members of the board of directors. “This power is vested only in the minister,” he said in a statement.
“The Crown’s decision to suspend board members and the decision to allow the ‘only unaffected board member’ to run the board himself is contrary to good corporate governance. “The law will not stand up to legal scrutiny in the following cases.” ”
“The result of these ultra-dangerous actions is that the board will remain in office until the Minister decides otherwise, but only after going through due process,” Nyohontso added.
King Miszulu had previously asked Nyongtso to disband ITB members, accusing them of being “hostile” and refusing to cooperate with his vision for the organization. The King is the sole trustee and chairman of the ITB, a role he assumed after the sacking of long-time chairman Jerome Ngwenya and the sacking of Tanduise Mzimela, who was installed last year.
ITB operates the Ingonyama Trust, which manages approximately 3 million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the Crown and falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land Reform. The Minister appoints the Board in consultation with the King, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and the House of Traditional Leaders.
