Cape Town – The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says it has reached a consensus with the African National Congress (ANC) on governance issues in 21 hung municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The IFP, however, maintained that it will not be going into a coalition with the ANC.
According to News24, party president Velenkosini Hlabisa said the decision was taken after talks with other smaller parties failed.
Hlabisa said this while addressing the media at his party’s Durban offices on Wednesday.
“We have come to an understanding that where the IFP has the most seats despite no outright majority, the IFP will form the municipal government. Reciprocally, where the ANC has the most seats despite no outright majority, the ANC will form the municipal government.
“Neither party will interfere in this process and will support the principle of the two largest parties coming the government and official opposition respectively.
“Accordingly, where the IFP governs, the ANC will become the official opposition and vice versa.
“We will therefore remain opponents but opponents who have agreed to operate on the same principle for the sake of securing stability in local governance and offering our people service delivery.
“It goes without saying that this is not a coalition. A coalition places both parties in power with a sharing of position. What we are doing is allowing the party with the most votes to govern while the other party is relegated to the opposition,” Hlabisa said, according to the broadcasting television channel eNCA.
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Hlabisa has previously said that the IFP will not enter into a coalition with the ANC as it “has not been honest with us in the past. They have let down [the] people of South Africa, and the voters clearly expressed themselves when it comes to the ANC”, IOL reported.
Following the IFP-ANC agreement, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN has been left red-faced, saying it will fight against the deal.
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Francois Rodgers, the leader of the DA in KZN, said his party will field candidates in municipalities such as eThekwini and Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) so that the IFP could vote with the ANC, thus exposing its hypocrisy, IOL said in a separate report.
“Clearly, the leader of the IFP does not carry the mandate of his political party. Going forward, it is now abundantly evident that there is a clear difference between the IFP, ANC and the DA when it comes to effective service delivery, building a capable state and dealing with corruption,” the report quoted Rodgers as saying.
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