Durban - Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi says he takes offence at the comments attributed to Reggie Ngcobo, the spokesperson for Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform Thoko Didiza, who was quoted as saying the statement he (Buthelezi) issued on Friday regarding the position of chairperson of Ingonyama Trust was “meaningless”, since the Office of the traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation and monarch is not a recognised one.

Buthelezi said the king and the entire Zulu nation recognises his office, and understand that when a statement is issued by the traditional Prime Minister, it conveys the facts of what the king has said.

This comes after Ngcobo was quoted in the media on Monday saying according to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform and the Board of the Trust, which said they still regarded Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela as the chairperson of the board, having replaced former judge Jerome Ngwenya.

"We saw Buthelezi's statement, but to us it meant nothing and we don't want to comment about it since it does not affect Inkosi Mzimela's position in the trust.

“The department will continue treating Inkosi Mzimela (as chairperson) until such time as the king advises us differently. In the Ingonyama Trust there is no position of the prime minister," Ngcobo was quoted as saying.

That got Buthelezi hot under the collar, and he issued a statement on Tuesday saying his office is recognised by the Zulu nation and the king.

"In my statement, I repeated what the king himself had announced. I was not conveying my own decision, or speaking on my own behalf, or providing my interpretation of the king’s intentions.

"I was directly reporting on His Majesty the King’s own announcement,“ Buthelezi said. "Decisions on the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust can only be made by the king.

"Accordingly, it was the king himself who made such decisions, and the king himself who conveyed such decisions. I take umbrage at the comment by the Department’s spokesperson that the statement I issued was ‘meaningless’, as the Office of the Prime Minister is not recognised,” Buthelezi said in his statement.

Ngcobo told IOL on Tuesday that nothing had changed, and that the king had not informed them that Inkosi Mzimela has been withdrawn.

He also said he respects all its institutions, but in this case, they still have what King Misuzulu said to the department.

sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za

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