The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) on Tuesday lambasted political parties for attacking the Zulu king and offered to educate them about King Goodwill Zwelithini’s role in KwaZulu-Natal.

The IFP’s leader in the provincial legislature, Blessed Gwala, said on Tuesday that political parties, in particular the Democratic Alliance (DA), needed to stop being “obsessed” with Zwelithini.

Gwala’s comments in a statement released on Tuesday came after the DA’s Francois Rodgers revealed that more than R3-million had been spent on private flights for the Zulu monarch during the past two financial years.

Rodgers had obtained the figures after submitting written questions to the office of the KwaZulu-Natal premier, requesting details on the use of private charter flights by the king.

“Now it’s high time that this practice of attacking the King in the public domain must stop. We haven’t heard that the King spent the money on his overseas and national holiday trips with his Royal Family. The provincial government always maintains that the King is the face of the province as he plays a vital role in attracting investors and visitors from around the world,” said Gwala.

He accused Rodgers of creating the impression that Zwelithini did not care for the poor.

“The IFP calls on all those in the Legislature who don’t understand the role of His Majesty the King in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal to approach us to receive education on the topic or they must shut up and not display their ignorance in public,” said Gwala.

Zwelithini’s finances, as well as the apparent inability to keep to the budget, have often been in the news.

In the 2014/15 financial year, the Zulu Royal Household Trust received R54.2-million. Before February 2015, this had been blown and there were media reports that the king could not pay his groceries. A further R5-million was granted to the King by the provincial government.

In April, the Sunday Tribune reported that R5-million was being spent on seven luxury Mercedes Benz’s for his wives.