King Misuzulu Hails Diageo for Easing the Plight of Flood Victims

King MisuZulu kaZwelithini has called on the private sector, civil society and the government to work together to confront social ills facing communities, saying the strengthening of collaboration between social partners was the only way to deal with challenges facing the country.

His Majesty, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini said this as he wrapped up his follow-up visit to the Nazareth community in Pinetown, Durban. The major purpose of the king’s visit was to take stock of the rebuilding and recovery programme mounted by various stakeholders since his last visit in the aftermath of the April floods, and to also distribute much-needed relief to the victims of floods.

During the visit, the King was accompanied by Diageo South Africa, the country’s leading producer of spirits, which sponsored the much-needed relief to the affected families displaced by floods and still living in community halls around area.

“I want to single out Diageo SA for special praise for collaborating with the King Misuzulu Foundation on this project. It is our view as the foundation that for us to deal with the social challenges facing the country we need to work closely with the private sector and the government. The government is trying its best, but it cannot do it alone. This is a practical example the social compact between all social partners,” he said, adding that the country needed more corporate citizens like Diageo SA.

The visit by the king also marked the launch of the King Misuzulu Foundation (KMF), a foundation of the monarch. Among the aims of the foundation, is the galvanisation of efforts and resources towards community upliftment and responding to various community development needs, including lack of access to potable water as well as assisting towards the education of children from poor families.

Acknowledging the foundation, the Premier of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Sihle Zikalala expressed gratitude for the initiative taken by His Majesty. “We are grateful to His Majesty, the King that, through the foundation, you will be able to reach communities and address challenges that government could have taken time to address. We are grateful for the step you have taken to play a critical role to intervene in areas where there are challenges. We are grateful for the step taken by His Majesty to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry and that no child fails to go school because of poverty at home”, Zikalala said.

Diageo South Africa’s Director of Corporate Relations, Sibani Mngadi, said Diageo SA, as a responsible corporate citizen that is invested in the growth and development of KwaZulu-Natal, jumped at the opportunity to partner with the king’s foundation. “The alignment between the objectives of the foundation and our values as Diageo SA dictated that we partner with the foundation and collaborate with it to address the plight of our people. We look forward to even more collaborations with the foundation and other stakeholders as we build stable and resilient communities,” Mngadi said.