Former president Jacob Zuma-led MK party is believed to be courting the ANC, promising that, if it supports the motion, some of the GPU MECs will remain in their positions. This is if the motion to oust IFP provincial chairman Thami Ntuli as premier succeeds.
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The ambitious plan by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) to topple the KwaZulu-Natal government of provincial unity (GPU), led by the IFP, has taken a new form.
While it was largely believed that the motion, which was dated for debate, had not been confirmed by the speaker of the KZN legislature, Nontembeko Boyce, it will not see the light of day.
This was premised on what appeared to be a solid block between the parties in the pact, the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Democratic Alliance (DA) and the National Freedom Party (NFP).
But the jostling in the NFP, which holds a swing seat, has put a spanner in the works.
While NFP President Irvin Barnes remains adamant that he has the power to determine the party’s future participation in the GPU, his legislative caucus has nullified those assertions.
“It is on the basis that the National Freedom Party has lost confidence in the premier,” Barnes maintained.
He accused other GPU partners of being unreliable allies, giving more credence to the party formed by the late Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi to jump ship.
But Barnes’ caucus in the legislature fired back on Tuesday, confirming its allegiance to the GPU that its president had erred, and that it was not acting on the party’s resolution.
He said the party no longer had confidence in the GPU.
“The caucus reiterates that the GPU remains intact and continues to function smoothly and effectively in fulfilling its legislative and governance responsibilities,” it said.
On the other hand, the former president Jacob Zuma-led MK party is believed to be courting the ANC, promising that, if it supports the motion, some of the GPU MECs will remain in their positions. This is if the motion to oust IFP provincial chairman Thami Ntuli as premier succeeds.
It is also understood that the MK party was wary of banking on the provincial ANC because of the frosty relations the party has with the ANC national top brass, especially party president Cyril Ramaphosa. The party was also open to working with the IFP, should the ANC decide to sit on opposition benches.
Meanwhile, the ANC conceded that the IFP was untrustworthy after Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi, an IFP strongman, pushed for the ousting of ANC uMkhanyakude district mayor Sphile Mdaka.
“As the ANC, we have not been approached by anyone regarding the motion of no confidence. At this point in time, the ANC has no position on the issue of motion of no confidence,” said ANC KZN coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu.
As it stands, after the 2024 general elections, the ANC crashed from the 44 seats it previously occupied to a meagre 14. The IFP has 15, DA 11 and the NFP has a solitary seat.
Together, the parties have 41 out of 80 legislative seats. The MK party, despite holding the majority of seats at 37, was muscled out of power when parties formed a governing pact, relegating the less than one-year-old party to the opposition benches. The Economic Freedom Fighters, on the other hand, has two seats.
Meanwhile, the NFP is expected to hold a media briefing at the weekend, seeking to present a united front.
A political analyst and lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Zakhele Ndlovu, pointed out that, despite deep divisions in the NFP and the rekindling of historic tensions between the IFP and the ANC, the motion was unlikely to succeed.
“What is happening with the NFP is that a power struggle is unfolding to decide the next leader of the party. I don’t see the MKP succeeding in removing the Premier. The numbers are short,” Ndlovu told M&G.
“The MKP needs four seats in an 80-member chamber. There’s no hope that the eff would want to support the MKP after what happened following last year’s elections with the mass exodus of leaders such as Shivambu.”