The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has raised concerns after the proposal for funding AmaZulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini's new palace in the upper-class suburb of Balllito, north of Durban.

THERE'S NO MONEY

The building of the new palace was proposed by the office of the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and AmaZulu Prime Minister Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. Tim Brauteseth, from the DA in the province, said the party respects the monarchy, but there is no budget for the new palace. "We do respect the Zulu Monarchy, which is an institution engraved into the fabric of our province and our country; however, this is a great concern," Brauteseth said. He said they've enquired about the costs with the office of the Premier, but they haven't received a response yet. "There is no money in the current budget to fund them," he said.

PRESSING MATTERS FIRST

He added that KZN has other challenges that the government can focus on. "The unfortunate reality is that unfunded mandates ultimately take money away from critical service delivery mandates, areas such as local government, education, health, and social development. KZN cannot afford this. It is therefore critical that any wish-list items are properly planned for in terms of value for spend," he stressed, adding that the government should look at how the Ingonyama Trust can be modelled into a commercial entity that raises funds for cultural development and tourism development to sustain the monarchy. Brauteseth said this is not an attack but a way to emphasise that they can use the assets they have in KZN to create income. Buthelezi said earlier in the week that they will build the palace in Ballito. "This is where King Shaka resided and even his grave is there,' said Buthelezi.