Many chiefs of the Zululand region are starving, especially Kwa Mandlakazi, Kwa Nongoma, under the Zulu dynasty. They say that they don’t know what to do to make their cries heard.
Some say that they are thinking of giving up on being chiefs because it is clear that this is a job that does not pay but requires all the time.
These chiefs spoke toOf this country They recounted and asked that their names be withheld as they said they were afraid that they might end up causing a lot of trouble if their identity was found out.
The first chief said that there has been no salary for three years now. He said that he has not done anything to correct the situation but it is just like he is playing for himself.
He said that he is starting to worry a lot now because he can clearly see that here they are living in trouble that they will never find even if they want to.
“The truth is that no one can see now that if you are a chief here, it means that you have to work without being paid a salary. After all, this is not happening at all. I don’t know what to do when things are like this,” he said.
He said that he can clearly see that it is not long before he withdraws from this job so that he will not be bothered by this matter.
“It’s better for me to stay unemployed than to say I’m working because I’m called a boss and I don’t even get a penny,” he said.
Another chief said that he has just thrown in the towel as he says that this is the fifth year he has been working without the provision of a salary.
He said that the sad thing is that their case is known by the Department of Cooperative Governance in KwaZulu-Natal.
It said, however, that the department has not done anything to find a tangible solution to this situation, which it has called a scandal.
”We have tried so many times to change this but nothing has changed. It is clear to us now that we will never earn a salary, instead we will always work as community volunteers,” explained the chief.
The third chief said he has told his family that this year he will be the last chief because he is tired of being a slave.
She said this is the fourth year she has been working without a salary. It said that the reason why it came to the decision to quit is that it is tired of talking about the salary.
He lamented that in this day and age it is not easy that there can be someone who just works and is told that he will not get paid in the end. He said this is unfortunate and they don’t even know why it is following them.
“I didn’t know that being a chief means that you work for your nation for free without being paid. I don’t want to lie, I’m very sorry that I didn’t agree,” he said.
He went on to say that he knows that it will not be a good thing for the chiefs to leave because they are not earning because that will mean that the nation will be left destitute, but he said that now they choose to let it be like that instead of being silent and being played with.
“The sad thing is that it is clear even to a small child that there is not a single person who is willing to stand up and fix this issue. The big question is how long will the chiefs of this area not get paid,” he explained with concern.
There are about 30 non-salaried chiefs. Some were earning in the past and their benefits were stopped on the spot and there are a few who say that since they entered the positions they have never received anything.
The spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Indigenous Affairs in KwaZulu Natal, Mr. Senzelwe Mzila, ended up not answering the questions sent to him.