Maintaining KwaZulu-Natal’s royal tradition was central as the KZN Premier’s Office recently allocated over R86 million (R86,141 million) to the Zulu Royal House Trust (ZRHT). This was announced by KZN Premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli. He also revealed that a budget of R817 million (R817,875 million) would be allocated for the Office of the Premier for the 2025/26 financial year.
Ntuli said: “The Office of the Premier provides active support to the ZRHT, which will continue to explore medium to long-term revenue-generating projects prioritising property development to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the Zulu Royal Family. The ZRHT will consider public-private partnerships, but private-sector participation will be prioritised in raising funds for medium to long-term. The ZRHT will continue to explore opportunities in commercial farming and create partnerships with provincial entities specialising in agriculture. The planning and coordination of a fundraising event to celebrate Zulu cultural heritage is underway, and the event is expected to take place this year.”
DA KZN Finance spokesperson, Tim Brauteseth, referred to the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) and how this was an example of a successful, traditionally governed community that utilized its wealth to achieve social development. He said that the ZRHT could follow this example. “The main challenge is that the right team has not been assembled for this task. There is no board and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), while administering the Trust and requirements of the Royal household, simply cannot keep up. This has to be an area of intense focus during the next year, and KZN’s Finance portfolio committee must be relentless in this pursuit. The issue is fundamentally important due to the significant impact that the Royal Household can make in terms of being an income generator for our province,” Brauteseth added.
