Buthelezi fires back at ANC ‘imbecility’ as KZN unity government tensions flare

n a withering response to the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, IFP cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi on Monday dismissed accusations made by the ANC earlier in the day as “the highest form of political imbecility and tactical opportunism”.

His statement comes after ANC provincial chair Siboniso Duma, provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo and deputy ANC KZN chair Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu openly criticised Buthelezi at a press briefing, accusing him of divisiveness within the government of provincial unity (GPU) and taking politically motivated actions against traditional leaders and ANC-run municipalities.

In a strongly-worded statement, Buthelezi said he served at the behest of premier Thamsanqa Ntuli and not the ANC.

He pushed back on what he said was an attempt to paint him as a “weak link” within the unity government, calling it a tactic aimed at undermining his influence.

“I do not take my marching orders from the ANC,” Buthelezi said.

He characterised the ANC’s comments as attempts to isolate him from the IFP, suggesting that they stem from the party’s discomfort with its significant loss in the province following the May 29 elections.

“The ANC needs to come to terms with their dramatic loss of power,” he said, referencing the party’s decline in influence following years of governance that he claimed had led to “the collapse of governance and service delivery” in KwaZulu-Natal.

Buthelezi said that ANC leaders were engaged in a coordinated effort to undermine his work as Cogta MEC and as the traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation.

“None of these tactics by the ANC will intimidate me nor deter me from executing my responsibilities as an MEC serving under an IFP Premier,” he declared.

Buthelezi also issued a strong rebuke of the ANC’s governance record, particularly within provincial Cogta during the previous administration.

He accused the ANC of fostering an environment rife with “corruption and malfeasance” and said that he would not shield any misconduct of his predecessors.

“I will not mollycoddle the corruption and malfeasance that was the order of the day in the Cogta department in the sixth administration.”

During its media briefing on Monday marking 100 days of the provincial unity government, Duma called Buthelezi “divisive” and the Democratic Alliance uncooperative.

He said that ANC officials had received complaints from traditional leaders about Buthelezi’s conduct, which they believed was politically motivated.

“Ours is to defend the hegemony of Izinduna,” Duma said.

Further allegations against Buthelezi involved the termination of contracts for workers associated with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), reportedly at his direction.

Duma said that Buthelezi’s actions were out of sync with the GNU’s goals, and risked alienating workers and traditional leaders who were instrumental in maintaining rural support.

“Buthelezi believes that he is above the GNU and his political party, the IFP. He is very divisive in nature. And his mission is to take us backward,” Duma said.

Despite all of this, Duma said the coalition government would continue to serve KZN residents for the next five years.

At the same media briefing, Simelane-Zulu said there were “no tensions” in the unity government, and that the ANC worked well with the IFP leadership, but that Buthelezi was a “rotten potato”.

Since Buthelezi was appointed an MEC, he had used his position to “settle scores”, she said, by ensuring that he “goes after” ANC run municipalities in the province.

She said the ANC would not accept Buthelezi’s actions and was engaging IFP leadership on the matter.