King endorses Thuma Mina campaign
KING Goodwill Zwelithini yesterday endorsed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Thuma Mina campaign, saying it had the potential to boost the country’s economy.
The king also made a call for the bulk of investment in KwaZulu-Natal to focus on agriculture.
Opening the provincial parliament in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, the king called for calm among political parties ahead of the elections.
He said the province should make sure that Thuma Mina, Ramaphosa’s campaign to turn around the economy and to bolster service delivery, was a success.
“We can no longer rest on our laurels. We need a renewed energy and ability to turn things around in KwaZulu-Natal. The cost of living has gone astronomically high. For us to live in these times, it will call for a new way of thinking,” the king said.
He said agriculture was the backbone of “every civilised society the world over”.
He said that instead of importing food from other countries, South Africa could be turned into a Garden of Eden through agriculture.
“A nation that cannot feed itself is a dead nation. There is no honour, no dignity and no rights in poverty.”
He said KwaZulu-Natal, through hard work, had the potential to produce sufficient food to supply the whole country and neighbouring countries.
“KZN must be a hive of agriculture that supplies all types of fruits and vegetables,” he said.
This was his last opening of the provincial legislature as the provincial parliament had been dissolved in preparation for the elections on May 8.
Addressing MPLs and other dignitaries – including former president Jacob Zuma – in IsiZulu, the king warned that investors would be reluctant to invest in a country that did not have political tolerance.
“Therefore it is important that political parties work with the Independent Electoral Commission, NGOs, religious organisations, the media and traditional leaders for peaceful elections.
“Parties that lose should be careful of how they respond to the outcome, and a winning party should also be careful about how they celebrate because if we have peaceful elections, there will be many opportunities to attract investors,” he said.