The stability of the newly formed Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in KwaZulu-Natal suffered a serious setback on Thursday after the IFP “snubbed” the National Freedom Party (NFP) for the post of mayor of the Zululand District Municipality and decided to support its own candidate.
It was widely expected that NFP leader Ivan Barnes would be sworn in as the mayor of the district municipality.
However, IFP candidate Michael Khumalo was elected mayor on Thursday. The district municipality said in a statement that Khumalo was elected unanimously.
He replaced Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi who is now MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the province.
Following Thursday’s development, the NFP leadership said it has scheduled an urgent meeting with IFP leaders to raise their concerns about the matter.
Barnes was sworn-in as a councillor in the district municipality on Wednesday, and it was expected he would be elected today mayor as part of the horse trading in the forming of the GPU.
The outcomes of the Zululand council meeting left the NFP feeling betrayed, looking for answers and planning to consult its membership on the future of the GPU.
The NFP has one seat in the provincial legislature. It is critical to the existence of the current GPU. While it was allocated a cabinet portfolio of Social Development, that post was given to its member in the legislature, Mbali Shinga.
NFP leader Sphamandla Ntombela described the outcomes of the council meeting as disappointing. “We can’t say how we feel exactly about this at the moment because we did not contest for the position.
“We knew that we did not have the numbers, but we thought that they would offer us the post, but instead they chose to field their own candidate,” he said.
Ntombela said there had been no actual engagement between the IFP and the NFP over the post of the mayor, but the NFP leaders had expected that because of the relationship that had been formed through the GPU, the IFP might offer the post of mayor to them.
“Our president is going to be engaging with the IFP leaders on the outcomes of the meeting this afternoon and we will know the way forward by tomorrow,” he said.
Asked about the impact of these developments on the GPU, Ntombela said that would only become clear in the coming days. “That will be determined by the outcomes of the talks between the leaders and after that we will take the matter to our members to get their views,” he said.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said, “There is no agreement on local government between the IFP and NFP. The IFP will engage the NFP on this matter in due course.”
Zululand District Municipality in a statement congratulated Khumalo on his appointment, saying he brings a wealth of experience to the role. He previously served as an Exco member in the council and former speaker of Abaqulusi Local Municipality.
Expressing his vision, the mayor extended his heartfelt gratitude to the former mayor for the dedicated service over the past seven years.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the council for entrusting me with this responsibility. I pledge to uphold the dignity of all political parties and foster harmony within the district. I will ensure that we prioritise providing water to the people of Zululand as this is our core mandate,” remarked the mayor.
The Mercury