Durban — The Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) has urged the national government to hand over the King’s House to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as one of the palaces.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the party implored the ANC to rally behind the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the ABC as they call on the national Minister of Public Works (Patricia de Lille) to officially hand over the King’s House residence in eThekwini to the Ingonyama Trust for its sole use as Ihlalankosi (palace).
Currently, the king does not have a palace in Durban except the abandoned Mbelebeleni in KwaMashu township, north of Durban. If in Durban the king sleeps in hotels.
The ABC further calls on the ANC-led government in KZN to initiate the project of installation of King Shaka’s statue in the city of eThekwini and further makes the call for the removal of colonial-era statues in and around the city.
The house is currently the official residence of the president and deputy president of South Africa when they visit KZN.
It is built in an Edwardian style. The construction of the residence was announced in 1901 by the then Durban Mayor John and was completed in 1904 during colonial times.
Its first resident was Sir Henry Bale, then Chief Justice of Natal, who moved into the house on June 29, 1904.
The house was also used to accommodate the British royal family on their 1947 visit to South Africa.
In 2012, President Jacob Zuma renamed the property to Dr John L Dube House, to honour Dr John Langalibalele Dube who was an educationist, journalist and first president of the ANC.
The ABC also commended the ANC in KZN for affirming its support and position on the Ingonyama Trust remaining the sole custodian of the land of the Zulu nation.
The party said it was particularly pleased to note that the ruling party had declared in a statement that it did not intend to “interfere with the land under Ingonyama Trust” and that President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting with the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, clarified the position of the ANC and ANC-led government where he informed the king that land expropriation did not include the 13% under Ingonyama Trust which is controlled by traditional leaders and native people in particular.
“The ABC commends this display of confidence and trust in traditional leadership, as well as the defending of the interests of native people by the ruling party. In conclusion, the ABC affirms that it is willing to collaborate with any political party that is invested in the interests of native black people and in defending the interests of the same people in order that they may govern and thrive in the land of their forefathers,” read the statement.
The ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said the call should be made by the royal family or the king himself not by ABC, adding that the party was not the king’s spokesperson or the royal family’s spokesperson.
Public Works had not commented at the time of publishing.
Daily News