KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has announced the backpay allocation process for Izinduna (headmen) from various traditional councils in the province.
Dube-Ncube met with traditional leadership on Tuesday to unpack the process of paying Izinduna.
This comes after National Treasury allocated funding for the 2023/24 financial year, which is specifically and exclusively allocated to settle the backpay of Izinduna after a lengthy procedure of various intergovernmental processes.
Speaking at the meeting, the Premier said the provincial government is pleased that it has resolved the matter, as payments to Izinduna is in recognition of their work within traditional councils, as public office bearers.
“These funds have been long awaited and in some instances, led to litigation that was not warranted because resolving the backpay matter has always been a priority for the provincial government.
“We are therefore pleased that the matter has now been resolved. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will ensure that there are proper internal controls before the funds are disbursed to qualifying Izinduna,” Dube-Ncube said.
She also reaffirmed that government has been seized with the task of not only of restoring the dignity of traditional leadership institutions, but also adequately resourcing them as a way of affirming the role of traditional leadership institutions as a critical pillar of governance systems.
“KwaZulu-Natal Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, together with the Office of the Premier, have been seized with this matter and had several engagements with national government to make these funds available in order to meet this obligation,” the Premier said. – SAnews.gov.za
