The IFP’s top brass in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has rejected a possible coalition with the ANC and will instead rekindle its relationship with the EFF.
IFP provincial chairman Thamsanqa Ntuli said in an interview with Sunday World that any alliance with the ANC was doomed because the governing party has failed the country.
“Working with the ANC will be selling out because the voters have made it clear that they don’t want the party in power next year.
“We have placed on record as the IFP that we are prepared to work with any opposition, but not the ANC,” Ntuli said.
While the red berets had reneged on the agreement the two parties struck after the 2021 municipal elections, Ntuli said the IFP was prepared to invite the EFF to the negotiating table.
“We will work with the EFF, but there are issues that should be addressed first,” he said.
The IFP’s plan is likely to ruffle feathers with the DA, which has made it known that it will not enter into working relations with the red berets.
The IFP, DA, ActionSA, United Independent Movement, South African National Civic Organisation, Spectrum National Party and the Freedom Front Plus are part of the so-called moonshot pact, which is now known as the multiparty charter.
The parties penned a deal to work together on their grand plan to oust the ruling ANC.
On the other hand, the EFF has also expressed its desire to strike a deal with the IFP to see the ANC out of power in KZN.
During the memorial service for IFP founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the two parties would unseat the ANC in KZN in honour of Buthelezi. “2024 is coming, and together with the IFP, we are going to make history in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
The results of the recent polling conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF) show that the combined vote of the IFP and DA stands at 46%, while that of the ANC and EFF is at 42%.
Both the ANC and the EFF in the province are jostling and scrambling to capture the IFP ahead of next year’s provincial and national polls.
A senior ANC leader not authorised to speak to the media told Sunday World that some local ANC leaders still denied the party might not gain a majority next year. However, said the leader, “there is consensus that they should engage the IFP to prepare for an eventuality”.
“The problem with the EFF is that it cannot be trusted. ”
Another ANC national executive committee member explained that while the national leadership had no qualms about working with the IFP, the governing party’s KZN provincial executive committee (PEC) was hostile to the idea.
“We have engaged KZN PEC, and they cite irreconcilable differences with the IFP. They want us to explore other coalition partners should we fail to reach a majority. But the reality is that, whether we like it or not, the IFP is in pole position. They provide a real threat to the ANC, especially in KZN.”
This comes as Sunday World learnt that the ANC was pulling all stops to ensure it retains the province amid its declining electoral fortunes, and a knock on the IFP door tops their options.
It is expected the ANC’s grand plan will neutralise the IFP vote by luring it into a pact. This will see the two traditional foes join hands and co-govern KZN should none of the parties receive an outright majority.
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