Cape Town - Parliament has criticised public threats made by some members of the Ingonyama Trust around the possible redistribution of land that belongs to the trust.
Some members of the Zulu nation have strongly spoken out against a report that was written by an expert panel that found that the Ingonyama Trust Act was unconstitutional - and that the 3 million hectares of land held by the trust should be transferred to the state and distributed.
On Monday Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini said the Zulu nation was willing to put up a fight to protect their land which he said was left for the nation by its ancestors.
The issue of the Ingonyama Trust has increased over the past couple of days following the EFF's motion to expropriate land without compensation being voted on by the ANC and some small opposition parties.
Read:
Following the vote, Parliament agreed to conduct discussions and consult stakeholders on the decision to expropriate land without compensation.
Parliament said on Wednesday that the public utterances by the trust appear as an attempt to disrupt Parliament from carrying out its duties.
"The Trust’s public posture on the report’s proposals even before they are either considered by Parliament or ventilated with the public and stakeholders, suggests an attempt to stifle debate and intimidate Parliament from carrying out its constitutional duties," said Parliament.
"It would be most unfortunate if this was the Trust’s intention, as it is not in the nature of the national legislature to bow to the bullying tactics of lobby groups or sectoral interests.”
Parliament has called on members of the trust to take advantage of Parliament’s plan to discuss the matter further.
On Sunday EFF leader Julius Malema said if the Ingonyama Trust was not managed well to benefit the Zulu nation, then it should be dissolved and returned to the people.