ANC presses IFP to remove KZN MEC as coalition strains deepen
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is demanding that the IFP recall Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi after a series of clashes over municipal governance pushed the province’s unity arrangement into fresh trouble.
The move comes as tensions have widened between the two parties in a province where cooperation matters. In recent days, Buthelezi has faced pushback from the courts and from the ANC over how municipalities are being run, while local government failures have spilled into public apologies, disciplinary action and salary arrears for workers.
Pressure builds on Buthelezi
The ANC has singled out Buthelezi in harsh terms, calling him a “bull in a china shop” as it ramps up pressure on the IFP to act. The criticism follows a high court ruling that rejected his urgent bid to determine who should run Umdoni Municipality.
That court setback came after the ANC itself apologised to workers in Impendle whose salaries went unpaid for more than four months. ANC KZN convenor Mike Mabuyakhulu said the party’s deployees had behaved badly and confirmed they had been given a sentence of expulsion, suspended for five years, pending a public apology and corrective steps.
The department later said the salaries had been paid on Thursday, after Cogta issued a 48-hour ultimatum earlier in the week. But the damage was already done. The episode exposed how fragile municipal administration has become in parts of the province.
Local government woes widen
In another warning sign, KwaZulu-Natal police urged political parties not to “eliminate competition by killing each other”, a stark reminder of the violence that can shadow local politics in the province. The message landed against a backdrop of bruising competition and rising frustration over governance failures.
The ANC’s criticism of Buthelezi now threatens to put even more strain on the unity government in KwaZulu-Natal, where the coalition formula has already been tested by disputes over accountability and control. The IFP has not publicly moved to recall him, leaving the standoff to harden for now.
For the province, the next test may come in whether the two parties can keep their arrangement intact long enough to stabilize municipalities that are already under pressure. Another court appearance, another deadline, or another public clash could quickly turn this into a broader coalition rupture.
