King's vault 'plundered'
Image by: THULI DLAMINI
Money meant for King Goodwill Zwelithini and his wives was used by royal household department officials to buy R600000 in groceries, parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) was told yesterday in Ladysmith.
The officials claimed that the groceries were for the king's wives.
Scopa was also told that officials illegally procured vaccines and food supplements - to the tune of R26077 - for the king's livestock.
King Zwelithini's annual budget is said to be about R59.5-million a year.
Yesterday, Scopa was told that an independent law firm had found that the former chief financial officer of the Royal Household Trust, Nkululeko Luthuli - a grandson of ANC stalwart Albert Luthuli - misappropriated R212000 of the trust's money.
The trust's chairman, Jerome Ngwenya, told Scopa that Luthuli had agreed to pay back the money and the board of trustees had reciprocated by promising not to press charges against him. Shortly thereafter, Luthuli resigned.
When asked by the African Christian Democratic Party's member of the provincial legislature, Jo-Ann Downs, why no criminal charges were preferred against Luthuli, Ngwenya said there had been no witnesses and legal opinion had been against it.
The director-general of the royal household department, Nhlanhla Ngidi, said the department had no procurement policy and that some officials were taking advantage of this by engaging in unethical behaviour.
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Posted 237 days agoSecretVoice
Disgusting behavior by a disgusting man in charge of a disgusting system.
LizoNdaba
ppss
Posted 236 days agol984
Posted 236 days agoViva Economic Freedom.
JohnDoe
Posted 236 days agoThere is a simple question, does having this king bring in tourism or some other form of income into the country and is this equal to or more than what we pay him? If yes then he can have the money if no he must get a job
Stirrer
Posted 236 days agoStill can't believe that we can hand over R5 million a month of hard-earned taxpayers money to a selected freeloader, who does absolutely nothing for us in return!
Thuka-Thuka
Mangqeshane
Stirrer
Wiseguy
No title deeds for his people = no money!
Grant them title deeds, empower them with their own land = continue paying him tax-payers money!
How is it that this simple but yet so necessary negotiation has not yet happened?
POWER TO THE PEOPLE.......and that means all the people!
rahima
Posted 236 days agoWhat is more funny, is that there are no consequences. Not even having the thieving hand chopped off. So this is a joke king as well.
To quote Whotnot:
"Kings / Queens / Jokers - Lots of Clubs and probably stolen Diamonds...No Aces - Just Asses like the rest of the ANC Pack...And one Jack that knows shyte =Jacob Zuma "