Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal government is set to fork out millions of rand in compensation for more than 2 000 izinduna from April.
The compensation forms part of the backpay which has been a contentious issue between government and traditional leadership for years.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube- Ncube told a media briefing yesterday that the provincial government had received money from national government, but would not disclose the total budget, indicating that this would be revealed by the finance MEC during the budget presentation next week.
She acknowledged that the backpay was a bitter-sweet moment as some of the izinduna who had been instrumental during the discussions had died before witnessing the fruits of their efforts.
“We are moved by the fact that we have had a number of izinduna who have passed on who were working with the government to ensure the payment of izinduna. Even those who have passed on (their families) will receive their backdated payment,” she said.
Dube-Ncube, who had just emerged from a meeting with traditional leaders yesterday, indicated that KZN Treasury, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Office of the Premier had held several engagements with the national government to meet this obligation.
The premier expressed concern over the killing of traditional leaders and izinduna, adding such attacks threatened to destabilise the traditional leadership institution, especially in KZN.
According to the premier, in a meeting in January the police said they were investigating 51 murder cases going back to 2012.
The meeting revealed that:
- 30 people had been arrested.
- 18 cases were still pending in court.
- Two cases had resulted in a guilty verdict while six remained undetected.
The struggle for chieftaincy, land disputes, family disputes and taxi-related disputes have been cited as the possible reasons for the killings.
Dube-Ncube said the government had made it clear to KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that no effort should be spared in bringing an end to the killing of traditional leaders.
“The province of KwaZulu-Natal takes the safety and security of Amakhosi and izinduna seriously and in our meetings with the provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi we have made it very clear that all resources must be used to end these murders,” she said.
She called for a collective war against crime, pleading with the province’s citizens to contribute in building a province that is safe, decrying how the province had earned a reputation as the capital of hit men.
Aside from the killing of traditional leaders, Dube-Ncube expressed concern about cross-border crime and indicated that there would be more operations targeting the dens of criminal syndicates and their handlers, starting this Sunday in uMkhanyakude District.