IFP: 'ANC MEC ONLY INTERVENES IN IFP COUNCILS'

April 21, 2006

The IFP is monitoring the tense situation at the ANC-controlled Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) Municipality where the Municipal Manager and the Mayor are feuding over a moratorium on the employment of senior staff.

At the IFP-run Abaqulusi (Vryheid) Municipality last year a similar internal conflict led to a high-handed ministerial intervention by the ANC MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu.
The matter ended in court.

In the end, the MEC's reckless gamble did not pay. The people of Vryheid chose the municipal government they wanted, clearly against the MEC's wishes, in the 2006 local government elections which returned an IFP-led council.

"This is how democracy works on the ground," said Dr Lionel Mtshali MPP who leads the IFP in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Parliament. "Democracy disregards the double standards of the ANC-led provincial government whereby this administration seems to intervene exclusively in councils run by other political parties."

The IFP contends that the ministerial intervention at Abaqulusi was a critical moment when the constitutionally-guaranteed three-tier model of government, consisting of the national, provincial and local branches was put to the test in KwaZulu-Natal.

The ruling party's interference in the workings of this province's municipal structures did not stop after the Abaqulusi fiasco. The ANC interfered again shortly after the local government elections in Newcastle where the ruling party intervened in the nomination of 60% of district councils in contravention of the Municipal Structures Act.

"Given that the ministerial interventions in the councils are apparently conducted on the criterion of political affiliation, we are most unlikely to see an intervention at the ANC-controlled Msunduzi Municipality because it is too close to home," said Dr Mtshali.

Contact:
Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902