Debate on Vote 1: Office of  the Premier

1. Honourable Members, this debate always hurts me, because the Indentured Labourers monument has never become a reality; yet monuments like museums brings in so much tourism revenue.
2. Premier, in who’s time will this monument, dedicated to our forefathers be built in KZN, a province saved economically by the blood, sweat and tears of their enslaved labour. This is not a good story. In fact this is a very long story with no end; as the futuristic tense used on page 24, the second paragraph of the Heritage budget.
3. Secondly, Hon Premier, one of my understandings of the terminology ‘Izinduna’ means an advisor, great leader, ambassador, headman or commander of a group of warriors who acts as a bridge between the people and the King.
4. This begs the question then, where does this mandate really lie? Is it with the Traditional Council or House of Traditional Leaders or the Royal Household?
5. Hon Members, the Minority Front holds the view, that Hon Members need to be workshopped on the Izinduna budget which has huge implications from a stipend turned salary payment.
6. Furthermore, the actual roles played by these paid civil servants because that is what I believe they would be recognised as, is only controversial because to political parties it would seem that they would operate as political units in traditional communities.
7. Hon Members, I believe this requires a special debate because the anthropological reservations on this term are confirmed by the very nature of revelations of creation of some units with questionable ontology as politics. Hon Members we need political acceptability amidst economic unacceptability.
8. Hon Premier, the Minority Front supports this budget but KZN and this Hon House needs your leadership on these matters which affects budgets but needs open and fast movement so that we see completion of projects and programmes in an inclusive manner.

Thank You.

Shameen Thakur- Rajbansi

Minority Front  MPL KZN Legislature