Parliament Grills Ingonyama Trust Over Poor Finances and Failure To Present Budget

Lucas Ledwaba

Parliament has asked the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) to explain why it did not reach any of the targets it set to support or capacitate traditional councils in the second quarter of the 2019/20 financial year.

In an overview report analysing the board’s 2020/21 annual performance plan and its 2020-25 strategic plan, parliament’s portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development says there was lack of commitment by the ITB to ensure that trust land was administered for material benefit and social well-being of traditional authorities or communities living on trust land.

The committee adds that this “has been a major contestation against the Board.”

“In addition, there was no evidence of funds or development support reaching the deserving communities living in Trust land as required by law,” the report dated 30 April says.

The ITB was established by the former KwaZulu homeland government on the eve