The provincial ANC’s insistence on renaming Mangosuthu Highway in Durban’s Umlazi township after one of its own leaders may jeopardise a coalition agreement reached with the IFP in KwaZulu-Natal.
The IFP has made reversal of an ANC decision to rename the road one of its main conditions for helping the ANC to retain the eThekwini metro, and for voting with the ANC in Gauteng metros and other hung municipalities.
The Sunday Times can reveal that there was strong pushback by ANC KwaZulu-Natal leaders against the IFP demand in an extended provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting addressed by party national chair Gwede Mantashe.
But the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) is expected to seal the deal between the two parties today by instructing its KwaZulu-Natal leaders stop the process to rename Umlazi’s main road after the late struggle stalwart and ANC lawyer Griffith Mxenge. The road has long been named for IFP founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
The decision to rename the main arterial entrance and exit freeway to Umlazi — a road akin to Chris Hani Baragwanath Road in Soweto in importance — was taken 10 years ago, though signage has still not been changed.
ANC provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli said the name of the road is one of the IFP’S central concerns and that the ANC has agreed in principle to relook at the decision to “ensure the stability of the province”.
The second IFP demand is that ANC change the name of its Mzala Nxumalo region (Vryheid), as it is offensive to Buthelezi and other party members.
This, too, will come under the consideration at the NEC.
“We will revisit those issues, but following an internal process so that the NEC doesn't just sit and say you are no longer Mzala Nxumalo — or that a council decision to rename Mangosuthu Highway doesn’t exist any more,” said Ntuli.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa was not available at the time of going to press.
On Thursday, the PEC met national leaders, including Mantashe, treasurer-general Paul Mashatile and NEC member Fikile Mbalula.
The meeting was called by NEC members to provide feedback on coalition talks and to take note of any concerns the province might have about concessions made to the IFP ahead of the NEC meeting.
“They listened to concerns and will take that to the NEC today. The decisions of the negotiating team — if accepted by the NEC — will be binding to all ANC structures,” Ntuli said.
However, rescinding the renaming of the Abaqulusi region to Mzala Nxumalo may be the hardest sell.
“Mzala Nxumalo is not a public entity but an ANC structure, that by its nature makes it difficult,” said Ntuli.
“When renaming took place his family had to be involved … if the NEC upholds the negotiating team’s decision that we must reconsider, the obligation of the provincial leadership will be to win over the family and region.”
Ntuli said an ANC conference of the region would have been an ideal place to start this process, but the ANC’s back is against the wall due to the governance and stability deal it has with the IFP.
“There are people in the ANC who have no regard for Buthelezi. This is like asking them to denounce their heroes for a person who was fighting their heroes, it’s not easy. Many comrades are not happy. Naturally, not all decisions make comrades happy but when it has been taken and you have decided you are part of a unitary organisation, what else can you do?”
The ANC and the IFP agreed not to compete with each other in those municipalities — among the 21 hung councils in the province — where they together are in the majority. The parties will remain opponents, but opponents who have reached an agreement for governance stability to deliver services.
The IFP has already sat councils in Abaqulusi, Jozini and uMlalazi — and despite rumblings from the ANC, specifically in Abaqulusi, there were no conflicts.
Ntuli said the province has agreed measures to ensure the smooth running of hung councils.
“We will set up a team made up of senior leaders in the province to manage this thing daily — and maybe to conduct quarterly assessments about the functionality of the arrangement, the challenges emerging at each municipality,” he said.
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