Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has been allocated R71.3 million by the KwaZulu-Natal government for the 2020-2021 financial year.
This is an increase of nearly R5 million from last year’s R66.7 million.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said that his own office had been allocated over R800 million.
Zikalala said that the funds given to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini would be used to fund the monarch’s traditional and cultural events as well as ensure the maintenance of royal palaces.
The premier’s priority programmes unit has been allocated R97 million.
Zikalala said this was where support for 60% of residents who lived under the poverty line in the province would come from.
The unit will also fund health interventions such as the medical male circumcision programme.
KZN RECEIVES ADDITIONAL R1.5 BILLION FROM GOVT
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said that efforts to fight COVID-19 in the province had been boosted by an additional R1.5 billion in funding from national government.
Simelane-Zulu revealed the figure on Tuesday morning while launching a newly refurbished quarantine and isolation site at the Clairwood Hospital in Durban.
She said that the funds were being used to procure more hospital beds in the wake of COVID-19 as well as recruit thousands of healthcare workers.
Simelane-Zulu said that they had substantially increased their isolation bed capacity from 230 eight weeks ago to 1,805 to date.
She said that when adding the number of quarantine, intensive care unit and high care beds, the province’s capacity increased to about 7,000 beds.
Simelane-Zulu said that they had also hired 10,000 community caregivers to assist the province for the next six months and they were now recruiting 4,000 professional nurses.
“As of Thursday, we have advertised posts for professional nurses and we hope we call on all the professional nurses that are sitting at home to apply.”
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) and Public Servants Association of South Africa have welcomed the increase in the bed capacity and recruitment of more healthcare workers.
The unions have, however, called for the newly recruited workers to be made permanent.