One of the prominent factions within the National Freedom Party (NFP) has backed the KwaZulu-Natal Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) led by Premier Thami Ntuli of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), stating that it is doing an excellent job in fighting crime.
The faction led by NFP National Chairperson and Mayor of eDumbe Municipality, Sbusiso Mkhabela, also said its sole MPL in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Mbali Shinga, who is serving as the MEC for Social Development in the GPU, must stay put in her position.
Mkhabela made these remarks during a media briefing in Durban on Wednesday. The press conference proceeded despite NFP President Ivan Barnes, who leads a rival faction, dismissing it as “not sanctioned” and calling it “fake.”
It was held concurrently with a meeting of the party’s national executive committee (NEC), led by Barnes, which was moving to discipline Shinga. The NEC alleges she defied a directive last month to vote for Premier Ntuli’s removal and to resign from the GPU.
Mkhabela argued that Barnes and the NEC are flouting the party’s constitution, claiming they lack the authority to suspend members.
“We support the KwaZulu-Natal GPU, we are saying the Honourable MEC (Shinga) must stay put where she is, we support this GPU 100 percent. The decisions taken at the back of boots and in bedrooms are theirs, the organisation is not involved in that.”
“All that we want is service delivery and putting the people of KwaZulu-Natal first so that the province can regain hope. So, we still have confidence in the GPU and the way it is conducting itself,” Mkhabela said.
He added that they believe Barnes is not acting in the best interest of the party, but is instead seemingly pursuing an agenda of another political party he did not name.
Meanwhile, the IFP’s national executive committee held its own press conference, reaffirming its confidence in Premier Ntuli and the GPU, which includes the ANC, DA, and NFP. The party condemned the MK Party’s attempts to grab power in the province.
“Our approach within the GPU has been principled and constructive. We have consistently advocated for clean governance, ethical leadership, and decisive action against corruption and maladministration. We have insisted that every partner to this arrangement must be judged not by rhetoric, but by performance, integrity, and their commitment to improving the lives of ordinary citizens. We are committed to servant leadership, to serve all the people of KZN, working with and for the betterment of all the people.
“Accordingly, we reject the desperate MKP efforts of a motion of no confidence in KZN Premier Thami Ntuli. This motion and its accompanying violence and threats of instability and Gender Based Violence have no place in KZN, South Africa or anywhere else in the world. The looters and enablers of state capture of yesteryear cannot be trusted as the people’s messiahs of today,” the party said.
