King Miszulu Kazweritini. (Photo credit: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart)
Less than a month after Zulu king Misrul Kazwelithini appointed Thulasizwe Buthelezi as prime minister, rifts are beginning to appear in the relationship between the two national leaders.
Mr Buthelezi, who delivered his first address to the Zulu nation on Monday, believed that as prime minister of the Zulu nation, part of his role was to handle communications with the king.
Additionally, Buthelezi said the King has already given permission to oversee all communications from His Majesty's Office.
However, it subsequently emerged that the king did not share the prime minister's views on the communication issue, which he believed should be addressed by the official spokesperson, the Zulu Prince of Africa.
In a media statement issued by the Zulu King's Office on Tuesday evening, Miszulu Kazwelithini clarified that Buthelezi's mandate does not include communications duties.
“To be clear, we want to be clear that the Department of Communications and Stakeholder Relations remains duly appointed and supported by His Majesty the King and is tasked with the important task of facilitating effective communication between the Throne and the King. “We would like to reassure the public that all of our esteemed stakeholders, both domestic and international, are in good hands,” a statement from the King's office said.
Mr Buthelezi, who was appointed two weeks ago to replace the late Zulu Prime Minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi who died in September, is also the IFP mayor of Zululand City.
Despite the new Zulu Prime Minister's claim that he had worked closely with the late Prime Minister and was familiar with the Zulu Prime Minister's role, the King's statement did not reflect Thulasizwe Buthelezi's claims that the Zulu Prime Minister It suggested that there might be something wrong with the role. I did not understand.
“The new incumbent has not yet benefited from a full pay rise from several officials within Her Majesty's Office. It is therefore to be expected that he assumed that the Office of the Prime Minister would encompass all other ministries. “The government should do so,” the royal palace statement said.
This article first appeared in The Witness.
