DURBAN - QUESTIONS have been raised about the real costs of vehicles that were given to Zulu royal queens by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government.
The DA in KZN said in a statement yesterday that Premier Sihle Zikalala had misled the public when he had claimed last year that the vehicles bought for the queens were below R800 000 for each one of the six vehicles, in line with the prescripts of the national government.
DA Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) Zwakele Mncwango said the party was surprised by the costs that were disclosed in a written parliamentary reply to questions that were posed.
Mncwango said the reply stated that five of the six cars – Toyota Prados – were purchased at a cost of more than R1 million each including VAT (R200 000 more than the national government prescripts on each vehicle).
He said only one car – a Toyota Fortuner – was purchased in line with national government prescripts, at a cost of R673 000.
Mncwango said this had brought the total budget for the six cars to R5m, which was overspending of R695 467.
“It is difficult to understand why the premier lied about these costs during the handover. The question is whether he deliberately misled the people or whether he was given incorrect information by his own officials. If the latter is the case, then he must indicate exactly who misled him and what action will be taken,” said Mncwango.
In response, provincial government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said there was no contradiction about what the premier had said, adding that the actual prices of the vehicles were within the R800 000 range.
Mabaso said “Mr Mncwango is conflating VAT and the actual prices of vehicles.”
Mabaso further questioned the DA MPL’s concerns, saying this was a continuation of a campaign which started in 2015 to ridicule the royal household.
“In 2015, Mr Mncwango in eThekwini published a demonising statement calling the sponsoring of the Zulu Maidens conference a waste and complaining about the King’s flights. That narrative moved to the budget for support to the royal household, hypocritically this happened as he glorified the opulent lifestyle of the British monarchy,” said Mabaso.
He added that the deliberate distortion especially on royal household matters was a continuation of Mncwango’s pet project to “ridicule and demonise” the royal household.
“We know there are those who are having sleepless nights about the government support of the royal household as the current government is doing with the recent purchase of cars, the security upgrades currently taking place at royal palaces,” the spokesperson continued.
IFP MPL Blessed Gwala said the latest revelations were another illustration of the intention to do away with the monarchy as an institution.
“We have seen instances where the budget in the royal household is undercounted for reasons that can only be known by the premier and the director-general,” said Gwala.
He charged that the premier and director-general Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize should come clean about royal household spending.
The royal household was not immediately available for comment, but on Monday some royals had expressed their concerns that royal house matters were continuously being turned into a public spectacle.
THE MERCURY