Durban — Businessman Jacob Mnisi has blamed tribalism for his withdrawal as the nominee for the Ingonyama Trust Board chairperson post.
At the weekend Mnisi issued a statement withdrawing his nomination to chair the board as King Misuzulu’s eyes and ears. In terms of the act, the king nominates a person of his choice to chair the board on his behalf while other members have to apply for the position.
Two weeks ago the Daily News revealed that Mnisi and the other four names were forwarded to the KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s office by the king’s office for her consideration. The premier was expected to forward the names to Agriculture and Land Reforms Minister Thoko Didiza, to complete the process, but Mnisi did a U-turn and declined his nomination.
On Monday, the Mpumalanga-born businessman cited tribalism as one of the reasons for declining the post. He said that after a hullabaloo about him being non-Zulu, he felt he must withdraw his candidacy and focus on his businesses. Another reason cited by Mnisi was that had he accepted the position he would not be able to do business with the trust since it would raise conflict of interest issues.
“The trust does not need a Zulu chairperson to be successful, all it needs is a person with business experience and skills. People must ask themselves why the Zulu Kingdom is poor even though it owns more than 3 million hectares of land. The Trust is governed by the national act and there was no policy which stipulated the chairperson must be a Zulu. If so, a white man would not have been the first one to chair the board when it was established in 1998,” said Mnisi.
He added that his vision was to turn the trust into a vibrant kingdom economic driver using his business skills and experience, which would create jobs and benefits for the 300 amakhosi who depend on the government for their salaries. Mnisi said that with such vast land at the disposal of the king and amakhosi there was no reason for their subjects to be poor.
The Daily News was reliably informed that after it reported that Mnisi was favoured by the king to replace long-serving Judge Jerome Ngwenya, there was pushback against him by Zulu loyalists who saw him as an outsider. He was seen as unsuitable to represent the king in an institution that controls the kingdom’s land – the heart and soul of the Zulu people. In a surprise move, the king had snubbed Judge Ngwenya and opted for Mnisi. Another problem cited by those who opposed Mnisi’s nomination was that there was no proper consultation with important stakeholders like amakhosi.
Ngwenya had previously told the Daily News that he was unaware of Mnisi’s nomination.
Mnisi was to drive the trust with Rejoice Ntombenhle Tembe, Malibongwe Dhlomo, Mzingaye Nkabinde and Vicky Panday. In spite of his withdrawal, Mnisi’s relationship with the king appeared to be unchanged as he was spotted close to him at the State of the Province Address on Thursday.
King Misuzulu’s personal assistant Prince Thami Zulu, who also speaks on behalf of the king pending the appointment of a spokesperson, said he was not able to comment as he was on leave.
Further attempts to get comments were unsuccessful.
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