DURBAN – KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has hinted at ensuring greater ownership of land by people residing in areas controlled by the Ingonyama Trust.
The Ingonyama Trust is a burning issue in the KZN political landscape, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the province challenging Zikalala on Tuesday during a debate on his State of the Province Address.
The party has called on him to review the current legislative framework under the which trust is governed.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini is the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust. The trust governs almost 3 million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal and collects close to R100 million from those leasing the land.
A high-level panel led by former President Kgalema Mothlante has previously recommended that the Ingonyama Trust should be repealed to allow residents to become owners of the land.
However, this has been strongly opposed by King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Zikalala says that his government is working to ensure that the people living on land administered by the trust are able to apply for credit, using the land as surety.
“The trust and government must resolve and have a plan to ensure that those people are able to use the land effectively and to get those who want to use the land for getting loans or for business operations, they should have that access. We will be working on that.”
Zikalala says he will be working to ensure that residents derive maximum economic benefits from the land.
