KZN government allocates R17 million for medical aid to Izinduna

Medical aid for 300 Izinduna will cost the KwaZulu-Natal government R17 million per annum, money they will derive from ending a building lease agreement in Durban.  

The KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) revealed this during a first-quarter report on 2025/26 financials to the KZN Legislature portfolio committee on Tuesday. 

The committee chairperson, Marlaine Nair, a DA MPL, brought up the issue because most of the CoGTA budget went to traditional leaders, and there were inadequate funds for any other projects.

In the CoGTA report presented on Tuesday, remuneration of Izinduna was at 54% of the annual budget spent as of the end of the first quarter. The department receives an allocation of R187 million and still has to dip into its budget to cover the rest of the money. 

Nair was concerned that CoGTA was taking money from the baseline to top up the traditional leaders' funding. She was also concerned about the introduction of medical aid funding to Izinduna. 

Nair suggested that the department needed to find ways to take the pressure off its budget by either getting traditional leaders paid by the National Treasury or explore ideas to generate income from traditional land for them to benefit from.

“We can have more money for oversight and support of municipalities and disaster management as well as economic development. We need to unpack ideas, deliberate on them, and find a way forward in terms of generating income for this particular department. We must not come across as insensitive or uncaring to the Izinduna,” she said. 

Dr Joey Krishnan, Acting HOD  of CoGTA, told the committee that the department was aware that there had been very little or no investment in economic growth and development in the rural community.

She said the decision on stipends for Izinduna came from the national government, adding that R400 million goes towards the stipends. 

“They are on our payroll, and they are able to take up medical aid and pension funds on their own. What we found from the 300 amakhosi that are on the payroll, 35 of them opted for medical aid. The cost of the medical aid they chose was extremely high,” she said. 

Krishnan said that CoGTA probed the matter and decided that if all 300 Izunduna took up medical aid options, the department would not be able to afford the medical aid contributions. 

She said they negotiated for better rates and a concession from a medical aid company which worked out to a much lower rate in comparison to what CoGTA pays for its staff. Izinduna get immediate cover, use of any private hospital, family benefits if the member dies, and a cancer benefit.

Krishnan explained that the department has ended a R21 million annual lease for a building they occupied in the Durban CBD. Staff will be relocated at the end of November 2025 to other government buildings. 

“That is where the funding is coming from. We are saving money to do more and will prioritise key priorities that we need to. Outside funding is always an option. Other opportunities for rural economic development will be looked at,” she said.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za