Durban — The chairperson of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, Siboniso Duma, has steadfastly allayed nagging fears of the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) collapsing before its 5-year term ends.
The ANC, dramatically dislodged as the governing party in KZN after the May elections, is part of the GPU in KZN, governing the coastal province, which was hung after the watershed polls failed to produce an outright winner.
This was after the ANC plummeted from 54% to a shocking 18% during the elections, forcing it to join the GPU to govern the hung KZN alongside the IFP, the DA and the NFP, which is rocked by internal factional quarrels.
The wheeling and dealing saw Duma being appointed as the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements by IFP Premier Thami Ntuli as part of the power deal in KZN.
Reflecting on the GPU, Duma said: “In KwaZulu-Natal, we have been tactical and sharpened enough that we learnt about power over the years. So we were able to intercept the process, which is why in our legislature we have a party with 45% (uMkhonto weSizwe Party) but not in charge of the state levers.”
Of the 80 seats in the KZN provincial legislature, the ANC has 14, the IFP 15, the DA 11 and the NFP 1. Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party has the majority with 37 seats and the EFF two.
The leadership rumblings in the NFP, a kingmaker, between party leader Ivan Barnes and some leaders have stoked fears in some quarters that the PGU could potentially collapse if the party pulls out of the PGU.
“We realise that we did not get a sufficient majority, and it means that our egos must be off,” Duma said.
“Let us work for the betterment of the community. Service delivery is at the centre. We are in that government, and I think we’ve started on the correct footing.”
Duma was speaking during his media engagement with Independent Media editors and reporters in Durban on Tuesday. The PGU grouping has met King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, he said.
Duma succinctly dubbed the Government of National of Unity (GNU) as a “gentlemen’s agreement”, saying the parties that are part of the deal were experienced in the political terrain.
However, Duma conceded that the GPU was uncharted waters for the current leaders in the province.
“We have started the process, but it is a new animal. And you still have some dynamics involved. Don’t even think that it’s a monolithic new course.”
Despite banding together within the Government of National of Unity (GNU) and GPU with parties such as the DA, the ANC’s sworn enemy, Duma said the party would always be rooted in its century-old ideas and values.
“The ANC is the ANC of (former president Nelson) Mandela with its ideology, and we are not going to let that ideology diminish because we are in this government,” he said.
Duma’s combined Department of Transport and Human Settlements boasts a massive R50 billion budget. His department would stimulate the ocean economy and aviation, he said, arguing that these sectors remained untapped.
To remedy the party’s poor election performance, Duma said it would assemble a team of experts from the academic realm and former ANC leaders to conduct a post-election assessment.
“They are going to give us proper well-researched feedback so that we don’t witch-hunt.”
Fresh from the bruising elections, and looking ahead to the 2026 local government elections, Duma said the party would go back to communities and engage them in a bid to woo them back into the ANC fold.
“We will go back to the community where the ANC did not do well and speak to the communities to find out where we went wrong.”
Duma’s parting shot was: “We must meet and develop our country together.”
Duma’s utterances come on the back of the Durban Business Confidence Index released on Monday, which, for the first time since 2022 pushed through the 50% mark, signalling a positive outlook for the province and the city of Durban.
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