Royal Household Trust faces criticism over lack of financial independence

THE Royal Household Trust is under fire for its failure to make the royal household financially independent and has been told to shape up or shut down.

- THAMI MAGUBANE

Frustrated members of the Finance Portfolio Committee recently expressed their dissatisfaction with the entity's performance during a meeting with Trust officials, where it presented its performance review.

The Trust briefed the committee on the work being done to make the Zulu royal house self-sustaining and informed them that it needs an additional R10 million to meet some obligations. Without this funding, it may need to halt some of its support services.

The Trust was set up years ago to allow it to fundraise in order to make the Royal House financially independent. However, it has struggled to implement any programmes that could generate revenue. It recently floated the idea of starting student accommodation, but this was viewed as a long-term project.

Additionally, it is working on a beef production plan as another effort to generate revenue. Trust officials said the beef production plan "must" succeed following numerous failures of other business projects. The Finance MEC, Francois Rodgers, recently met with King Misuzulu regarding the project.