Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala’s office on Wednesday said it has proof that it paid the bills for Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini's temporal seat of royal power, KwaKhangelamankengane Palace, just outside Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal, despite claims from the Zululand District Municipality mayor that the king had a R1.7 million unpaid water bill.
The revelations were made by Zululand District Municipality mayor, the Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, on Wednesday via a press statement.
Buthelezi claimed that he raised the matter with the KwaZulu-Natal cabinet led by Zikalala during a cabinet lekgotla in Durban on the same day.
When Independent Media spoke to Buthelezi about the matter, he blamed Zikalala’s office, which handles royal budgets and other affairs, but Lennox Mabaso, the spokesperson of the Premier’s Office, provided a screen shot of the payments to the Zululand District Municipality for the palace utilities last year.
Mabaso said the municipality opted to ignore all its debtors in its debt book including big businesses and farmers and instead chose to restrict water to the KwaKhangel’amankengane Royal Palace, as a way of forcing the royal family to submit to “royal capture and bait for their cheap publicity stunts”.
“The Office of the Premier hereby provides proof that it had paid over R1m to the Zululand District Municipality despite not receiving an authentic billing system. In addition, there appears to be a dysfunctional inconsistent billing system on the part of the Zululand District Municipality.
“A case in the period of five months (September 2021 to January 2022) the account statement shows that KwaKhangel’amankengane Palace incurred R81 169.60 exactly each month, totalling R405 848,“ it said.
It added that “it is evidently clear that the dramatic theatrics to cut water at KwaKhangel’amakengane Royal Palace and the subsequent propaganda borrowed from his party lines are an attempt to deflect attention and downplay Premier Sihle Zikalala’s very successful and fruitful visit this week“.
JUST IN: Under fire from several fronts, de facto Zulu King, Misuzulu KaZwelithini's temporal seat of royal power, KwaKhangelamankengane palace just outside Nongoma in northern KZN would soon have its water cut over a hefty and unpaid water bill. KZN government is blamed. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 16, 2022
Buthelezi said the water bill at the palace located in a rural farm along the Nongoma-Pongola road now stood at R1.7m and a shutdown of the service was imminent.
King Misuzulu does not reside in the palace because his late mother, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, is buried in the vicinity. Culturally, some Nguni kings (like Swatis and Zulus) don’t live where there is a grave or a graveyard nearby because it is taboo. They also don’t attend funerals – even of their children or siblings. However, pending the building of his new palace, once he has been enthroned, he only uses the owing one to receive visitors and other delegates and then leaves for his various temporary houses (that cannot be revealed for security reasons) across northern KwaZulu-Natal.