The Inkatha Freedom Party is contemplating firing member Bonga Mdletshe from the provincial speaker’s position to ensure that the African National Congress does not have the numbers to take over the reins of KwaZulu-Natal.
The stand-off between the IFP and the ANC is likely to be resolved only after the Easter break. Minority parties such as the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), who hold the power to change the equation in the province, urged the two parties to sit down and negotiate on Tuesday last week.
The ANC and its allies hold 40 of the seats in the legislature. However, the ANC does not have the numbers to support Premier Lionel Mtshali’s removal. The ANC requires 41 seats in the 80-seat legislature to pass a no-confidence motion against Mtshali.
The party is looking towards lone ACDP member Jo-Ann Downs to deliver that one critical vote. Despite being courted by both parties, Downs reiterated this week that she would not support the removal of the IFP premier, or any motion that would call for Mtshali to be replaced with an ANC member.
She said her party had taken a principled stance against defections and could not endorse the change in power facilitated by floor-crossing.
Meanwhile, the IFP is putting together a back-up plan should Downs change her mind. It is considering firing the speaker, Mdletshe, and making him sit in the benches.
The IFP anticipates the ANC would then be forced to send one of its members to chair the House, leaving them short of one vote. By the rules of the House, the legislature cannot function without a member chairing its proceedings.
The ANC and other parties in the legislature are considering legal options in opposing such a move.
Earlier in the week the ANC had rejected Mtshali’s offer of two positions in the provincial Cabinet, largely because that deal came with conditions attached.
Mtshali insisted that he would not reappoint former MEC for housing Dumisani Makhaye and former MEC for education Gabriel Ndabandaba.
Mtshali had fired Makhaye and the MEC for economic affairs and tourism, Mike Mabuyakhulu, last year, shortly after the ANC endorsed Pietermaritzburg over Ulundi as the sole seat of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. Ndabandaba was fired after he defected to the ANC last month.
The ANC had insisted on the reinstatement of three MECs and had implied that it would otherwise seek to remove Mtshali from office.
Aware of the fact that the ANC lacks the numbers to pull off the threat, IFP spokesperson Musa Zondi challenged the party to go ahead and remove the IFP premier. He refuted claims that Mtshali had offered the two positions because he felt threatened.
It is believed that the former MEC for public works, Celani Mtetwa, who has played an instrumental role in easing tensions between the parties in the past, offered to step down to accommodate the ANC.