Amakhosi can become a shareholder in Isandlwana Holdings with an investment of R100,000 — a figure decided by the provincial chamber of traditional leaders.

The traditional prime minister, who is also KwaZulu-Natal’s MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, urged Amakhosi not to miss this “golden opportunity”.

“There are still places without network towers in rural areas. When Vodacom says “let’s work together”, that’s progress. There are many programs that will help develop our regions. But we also need to invest.

Buthelezi revealed that representatives of the African Bank and its board of directors visited the king and expressed their desire to invest.

He expressed “no confidence” in the Ingonyama Trust as a vehicle for the material benefit and well-being of the communities whose land it administers. He attributed this to what he called the failure of the Ingonyama Trust board to include the amakhosi in its plans, saying the amakhosi gained nothing from this trust.

“This current board, since it was announced over a year ago, has never met with an amakhosi – something that never happened to previous boards. They organize strategic workshops without consulting the land owners (amakhosi).

“Even when the king realized things were getting out of control and decided to chair the board himself, they simply called meetings and excluded him. When we told them they had to come to Ulundi for a meeting, the CEO said it was too far. The king called a meeting here in Ulundi – he waited three hours, they did not launch.

Buthelezi compared Isandlwana Holdings to Royal Bafokeng Holdings in that “it is able to achieve financial independence”, adding that it was an opportunity to use KwaZulu-Natal’s resources to improve the lives of those living on Amakhosi lands.

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