ANC slams Premier Mtshali's full-page ad

The full page in the Sunday Tribune cost an estimated R100 000.

Premier Mtshali is the political head of the department of the royal household which administers the affairs of the king and he has recently been criticising for his less-than-royal treatment of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini.

Last month the King was left stranded in Swaziland, where he was a guest at the 34th birthday celebrations of King Mswati, after Mtshali allegedly cancelled a helicopter to fetch him because proper procedures were not following.

In the advertisement, Mtshali strongly condemns the politicising of the treatment of the king. He also he attacks the African National Congress and defends his party, the Inkatha Freedom Party.

The ANC is condemning the expenditure of taxpayers' money for party political purposes. Spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu said: "The ANC will call for a probe by the Auditor-General and the Public Protector into a costly full-page newspaper advert issued by Premier Lionel Mtshali in defence of the shoddy way he is treating His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini."