DA questions Royal Household expenditure  

23 December 2014

The Zulu Royal Household expenditure is out of control. 

According to media reports, the royal household has blown the R54 million allocated to it this year by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, with a full two months left of the financial year, and has requested "top-up" funding of a further R10 million rand. 

There appears to be lack of control over the appropriated budget and checks and balances seem to have fallen by the way side. 

The appointment of Judge Jerome Ngwenya to head the Royal Household Trust has not resulted in the cost savings envisaged by the creation of this entity. The cause of the problem is linked to a duplication of functions with the Department of the Royal Household in the Office of the Premier. This results in a lack of clarity on exactly what money is being spent on, who is authorising it, and a duplication of the costs of administration.

The DA will therefore request the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, to:

Conduct a comprehensive audit of the royal household's expenditure for the past 3 financial years;

Implement checks and balances to ensure that expenditure is in line with approved budgets; and

Benchmark the Zulu royal household's budget against that of other royal households supported by national and provincial funds.

We will further request that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Head of the Royal Household Trust, the Office of the Premier, and the Director General in the Department of the Premier, all appear before the Portfolio Committee to account for this reckless expenditure and lack of control. 

Statement issued by Kevin Mileham MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, December 23 2014

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