KZN’s Rodgers pours cold water on proposal for govt to create traditional leaders’ pension fund

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Finance MEC Francois Rodgers has poured cold water on a proposal for the government to create a pension fund for traditional leaders.

Rodgers said that the plan would be an unfunded mandate and unaffordable, given the province’s tight fiscal constraints.

The proposal was recently raised by KZN’s MEC for Traditional Affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, who argued that the government has a duty to support traditional leaders who play a significant role in their communities.

In an interview with EWN, Rodgers said that the matter has been discussed in the provincial cabinet.

“You will remember, we got the worst curveball ever. About 10 years ago, Jacob Zuma was the president, and he just made a proclamation that KZN will pay Izinduna, and it cost us R250 million then, unfunded. We had to cut it off our baseline budget, so that came out of education and health. We can’t afford it. The reality is we can only spend on what we have budgeted for. It’s all about priorities.”