KZN Premier announces R86 million funding for Zulu Royal House Trust
Image: Supplied
The KwaZulu-Natal Zulu Royal House Trust (ZRHT) will receive R86 million in the financial year (FY) 2025 and 2026 from the Office of the Premier (OTP) budget of R817 million.
This was revealed by KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli who delivered his budget vote for the OTP on Thursday. Ntuli said the OTP has also embarked on developing a centralised Provincial Forensic Framework that will ensure that all Forensic Investigations Units in the Province are centralized under the KZN OTP. Ntuli said that currently, some departments have their own Forensic Units and this duplicates resources spent in the province while leading to a lack of objectivity in reporting.
Ntuli said the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) outlined three key priorities: to drive inclusive economic growth and job creation
to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living
to build a capable, ethical and developmental state
Ntuli said his vision was for KZN to take its place as a leading province, with its people exhibiting unmatched excellence and exemplary leadership
The structures of the OTP and budget allocation include: Administration (R237 million); Institutional Development (R362 million) and Policy and Governance (R217 million).
The OTP provides active support to the ZRHT. Ntuli said they 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 trust will consider public-private partnerships, but private-sector participation will be prioritised in raising funds for medium to long term. The trust will continue to explore opportunities in commercial farming and create partnerships with provincial entities specialising in agriculture.
Ntuli said the planning and co-ordination of a fundraising event to celebrate Zulu cultural heritage is underway, and the event is expected to take place in the 2025/ 2026 FY.
There will be a focus to strengthen the Premier's Coordinating Forum (PCF) as the uppermost Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR) structure of co-ordination of all spheres by the Premier.
'The Operation Mbo project will continue to be the priority area to ensure the speedy finalisation of disciplinary cases. This includes continuous deployment of a multi-disciplinary crack team, training interventions and constant monitoring and monthly reporting,' Ntuli said.
Ntuli said the OTP will intensify the implementation of the results of the skills audit focusing on catalytic training programmes such as the digital skilling of public servants, as well as interventions to address gender disparities especially in management positions across all government departments.
'To bolster our efforts to position our province to be a smart province, enormous strides have been made in implementing key components of the provincial digital transformation strategy. A major milestone in this journey has been the automation of essential tools, such as Operation Sukuma Sakhe's case management system, household profiling and war room functionality audit, which has improved service delivery by streamlining case handling and response times,' Ntuli said.
The Forensic Investigations and Integrity Management will receive R44 million. Ntuli said the OTP was committed to the fight against fraud and corruption and will embark on numerous initiatives to curb this plague. This will be done through an approved forensic investigations framework.
'There are plans to intensify collaboration with law enforcement agencies on matters under criminal investigation. Consistent liaison will be conducted to assess the progress of the top priority cases and criminal investigations within the province which emanate from provincial forensic investigations,' Ntuli said.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za
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