The KwaZulu-Natal government of provincial unit (GPU) is once again under strain, with some leagues of the ANC and senior party leaders asking the former majority party to withdraw.
The calls were started on Friday after the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the National Freedom Party (NFP) teamed up and ousted Siphile Mdaka, the ANC mayor of Umkhanyakude district municipality in the north of the province.
Also ousted during the shake-up was Solomon Mkhombo as the speaker and his position was taken over by Pat Madlopha from the IFP while Mdaka’s position went to Comfort Khumalo, also from the IFP.
Rewarded with top post
In return for their support, Thembinkosi Sibiya from the NFP was rewarded with the position of deputy mayor, a position he held under the previous ANC administration of Mdaka.
Both the NFP and the IFP are members of the GPU with the ANC and the DA.
After the shake up that saw Mdaka ousted, the ANC Youth League in the province called on the mother body to leave the Gpu led by Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli, saying the former majority party is under siege from parties it is supposed to work with.
“Today’s (Friday) unceremonious removal of ANC councillors from the troika in Umkhanyakude district municipality, through a motion by the IFP is one of the many examples that has made us to conclude that our continued participation in the Gpu will not only be to detriment of the ANC, but will ultimately result in depriving the people of KwaZulu-Natal service delivery, something we cannot ignore,” the provincial youth league said.
Adding its voice was the league in the ANC’s Nokuhamba Nyawo region (Umkhanyakude) which also said the party must leave the GPU.
Deputy minister brands IFP enemy
“The ANCYL in the Nokuhamba Nyawo region calls on the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to wake up and withdraw from this toxic arrangement with the IFP and the DA. To remain partners with those who openly destroy is to betray the youth, the movement and the people,” it said.
The Umkhanyakude ouster of the ANC also prompted Jomo Sibiya, a Cyril Ramaphosa loyalist who is serving as the deputy minister of employment and labour to brand the IFP as the enemy.
“IFP remains our enemy… we shouldn’t be fooled and we must treat them as such… we must look for alternatives, politics is the art of the possible,” Sibiya said on his widely followed Facebook page.
Tempers flare among party bigwigs
Sibiya even publicly asked whether it was possible to initiate a motion of no confidence against a premier, which was viewed as asking ANC members to oust Ntuli.
His Facebook comment prompted a sarcastic response from IFP national spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who said if that is possible, it should also be possible to initiate one against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
On Monday morning the DA fired back at the ANCYL, telling it that it backs the MEC for Finance, Francois Rodgers as he cleans up the province.
“The DA in KwaZulu-Natal fully supports MEC Rodgers’ efforts to clean up the mess left by the ANC in this province. We are proud of the progress made under his stewardship, from fighting against the systemic closure of Ithala SOC Ltd to working towards the financial independence of the AmaZulu Royal Household.
“We condemn the ANCYL’s baseless claims that we are working with the IFP to take over municipalities run by the ANC. The people of KwaZulu-Natal know that the DA is committed to serving their interests, not playing petty politics.
“It’s time for the ANC Youth League to wake up and smell the coffee. The youth of KwaZulu-Natal deserve leaders who will deliver real change, not just empty slogans and struggle songs,” the DA in the province said in support of Rodgers.
