The glue holding the coalition government between the DA, IFP, ANC and National Freedom Party (NFP) in KwaZulu-Natal is the “existential threat” of the MK party and EFF, says DA provincial leader Francois Rogers.
The four-party coalition in KwaZulu-Natal puts the IFP in charge of the premier position and four other cabinet positions in the 10-member executive. The parties have a combined 41 out of 80 seats in the legislature.
The MK party, though it won the majority of votes in May’s general election, and the EFF are in the opposition benches.
“I think all the parties realise the possibility of the GPU [government of provincial unity] not working and the alternative is too horrific to contemplate,” Rogers told Business Day.
“The leadership in KwaZulu-Natal that sat around a table and negotiated the GPU was very mature and sensible and looked at what’s best for the province. I think that level of maturity has carried through, but at the same time, I can’t be naive and [think] that it is going to go on forever.
“There will be challenges but I don’t think the challenges are insurmountable,” he said. What was important was to get successes and quick victories now as a political collective.
The power-sharing deal reflects a coalition agreement struck between the parties with the aim of locking the MK party out of the government despite its winning the lion’s share of the vote.
“That’s the bond that keeps the GPU. It’s the fear factor,” Rogers said.
The DA in the province is setting its sights on consolidating its share of the vote in the 2026 local government elections. The recent by-elections, held at the start of September, where the DA won 16 out of the 17 wards contested countrywide, had laid the groundwork for the municipal elections, Rogers said.
This includes Ward 33 in eThekwini where the DA secured 80.5% of the vote, up from 39% in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
“What we do is we focus on areas where we’re showing growth. I think the shotgun approach to politics and trying to spread across the entire province, that’s not realistic,” Rogers said.
Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni said the GPU in KwaZulu-Natal was likely to last despite the ideological differences between the parties because the provincial leaders of the respective parties also occupied crucial portfolios within the provincial cabinet.
“The only threat from MK would probably arise post the 2026 elections depending on how well MK does in some municipalities and if the ANC, DA and IFP triangle can’t form a government in a municipality without MK. There are quite a number of municipalities which are vulnerable to MK influence,” Mnguni said.
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