KZN ANC marks 100 days in unity government, lambasts DA and IFP’s Buthelezi

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday hit out at its Democratic Alliance (DA) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) provincial coalition partners, saying there was a lack of cohesion and co-operation from the former and that the latter’s Thulasizwe Buthelezi was “divisive”.

ANC chairman Siboniso Duma made the remarks at the Radisson Blu Hotel Umhlanga, where he and other provincial executive committee members had gathered to “reflect” on 100 days of the unity government, and what the ANC had achieved.

Duma said the ANC would continue to take a strong stance on the DA’s “tendencies” and any actions that threatened the ANC’s goals.

He added that the ANC would evaluate its partnership with the DA continuously, maintaining that the collaboration was tactical rather than ideological.

“The DA will always be a centre-right party that has the capacity to hamper progress toward the fulfilment of the Freedom Charter,” he said, indicating that the alliance was one of convenience rather than shared vision.

Duma said the ANC’s concerns extended to the IFP, with a particular focus on the conduct of Buthelezi, the MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs.

According to Duma, Buthelezi has been targeting traditional leaders with the aim of removing them — a move the ANC viewed as disruptive to the stability of the unity government. 

He said 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.

Other allegations made against Buthelezi involved the termination of contracts for workers associated with the expanded public works programme, reportedly at his direction.

Duma said Buthelezi’s actions were out of sync with the unity government’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 residents for the next five years.

“We wish to assure the people of KwaZulu-Natal that the GNU is stable and will remain alive,” he said. 

But Duma also warned that future cooperation with the DA and IFP would be conditional, with a renewed focus on advancing its own mandate.

“Working collectively with other parties does not imply that we will forsake our identity, values, and programme of action,” Duma said, emphasising that the ANC would not compromise on its goals of building a “non-racial, non-sexist, democratic” South Africa.

Also at the briefing was ANC deputy provincial chair Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, who said there were “no tensions” in the unity government.

“We have a very good relationship with the NFP (National Freedom Party), and with the leadership of the IFP, with the exception of MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi. The tension with the DA is ideological and will always be there because we are on two different ends of the [ideological] spectrum,” Simelane-Zulu said, adding that they could still work together.

There was a “maturity” and understanding in the provincial cabinet and legislature that all parties had to work together, she said, but quickly added: “Of course, the DA only has an interest in the white minority in the province; they only have the interests of white monopoly capital [sic], and that is something that we know about them.”

She said that when the ANC met with the DA, it did so “with the understanding of who they are”.

The DA did not represent the interests of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, she said. “We know that they don’t care about the interests of black people in this province in particular.”

There was “no tension” between the ANC and the IFP leadership at provincial level, she said, but there was a “rotten potato” in the form of Buthelezi.

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

Simelane-Zulu said the ANC would not accept Buthelezi’s actions and was talking to the IFP leadership on the matter.