Durban — The stability of the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in the hung KwaZulu-Natal legislature is again under scrutiny as two senior leaders of the ANC and the IFP are locked in a public spat.
The war of words started when ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo accused the IFP MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), the Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, of the “weaponisation” of his department.
“We condemn the weaponisation of the Cogta department for what is clearly a campaign to turn municipalities into a fiefdom of a dominant grouping that is operating like a criminal syndicate,” Mtolo said in a statement.
The ANC and IFP are part of the GPU governing KZN alongside the DA and NFP. The public feud between Mtolo and Buthelezi has brought into sharp question whether the GPU would be able to weather political storms until its five-year term expires in 2029.
The bone of contention for Mtolo was the axing of government administrators, allegedly by Buthelezi, including municipal managers appointed last month by IFP Premier Thami Ntuli.
“We view the removal, replacement and appointment of administrators and municipal managers by Buthelezi without following due processes as reckless and illegal,” said Mtolo. He said Buthelezi had no authority to appoint AB Mnikathi as acting municipal manager of Nongoma Local Municipality.
“MEC Buthelezi is now introducing a new culture where Cogta becomes the perpetrator of maladministration. We want to remind him that no party in the GPU obtained an outright majority. Therefore, he should not act as if he is the alpha and omega of the GPU.”
Despite the spat, Mtolo said the IFP and ANC had held discussions on co-operation between the two parties to co-govern hung municipalities in KZN.
Not taking Mtolo’s attack lying down, Buthelezi fired a salvo, telling Mtolo that the ANC was no longer in power in KZN. He claimed that a forensic investigation had been set in motion by his department and could implicate members of the ANC.
“A forensic investigation into procurement and employment violations between January 2023 and May 2024 would most likely lead to criminal charges against senior ANC leaders in the province,” said Buthelezi.
“The information at my disposal implicates even him (Mtolo).”
The sparring between the two comes as the GPU partners are at pains to allay fears of the power deal collapsing.
Last week, ANC provincial chairperson Siboniso Duma reassured the province’s citizens that the GPU would not collapse amid fears posed by the NFP, the kingmaker in the deal.
“Let us work for the betterment of the community. Service delivery is at the centre. We are in that government (GPU), and I think we’ve started on the correct footing,” Duma said.
He was addressing the editorial team and management of Independent Media in Durban last week.
Like Duma, provincial leader Ntuli and the DA provincial leader, Dean Macpherson, have previously said the GPU will work.
This is amid the looming threat posed by NFP leader Ivan Barnes, who is said to have been eyeing control of the Zululand District Municipality in return for supporting the GPU grouping with his party’s deciding single seat.
However, Barnes did not have his way after the IFP voted for its candidate, Michael Khumalo, as Zululand District Municipality mayor, stoking fears that Barnes would pull out of the power pact governing KZN.
But Barnes has been coy and has played his cards close to his chest, resulting in speculation as to whether he would pull out of the GPU.
Of the 80 seats in the KZN legislature, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party has 37, followed by the IFP with 15, the ANC 14, DA 11, EFF two and NFP one.
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