{"id":847508,"date":"2026-01-09T16:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=847508"},"modified":"2026-01-09T16:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:30:15","slug":"huge-problem-hitting-one-of-south-africas-most-volatile-provinces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/847508\/huge-problem-hitting-one-of-south-africas-most-volatile-provinces\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge problem hitting one of South Africa’s most volatile provinces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The National Freedom Party (NFP) has thrown a massive spanner in the works for KwaZulu-Natal’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) after withdrawing from the coalition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reported by SABC News, leader Irvan Barnes confirmed that the NFP had decided to withdraw from the GPU due to administrative challenges and coalition partners failing to honour agreements.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFP is one of several parties that form part of KZN’s government, including the IFP, ANC and DA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the NFP only held one seat in the KZN legislature following the 2024 elections, it assumed the role of kingmaker due to the influence of the MK party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the IFP’s Thami Ntuli is the premier of KZN, his party only holds 15 of the 80 seats in the KZN legislature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ANC (14) and DA (11) hold only 25 of the seats in the legislature, narrowly missing a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Jacob Zuma’s MK party holds 37 seats in the provincial legislature, while the EFF holds the remaining two seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EFF and MK party have refused to join coalitions with the ANC, including the Government of National Unity (GNU)\u2014but the far-left-leaning parties only hold a combined 39 seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFP joined the GPU following the 2024 general elections. As per the decision to join, the NFP’s Mbali Shinga was appointed MEC for Social Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the NFP now leaving the GPU, the move no longer guarantees a majority for the GPU when voting on matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if the NFP decides to vote in favour of policies with the EFF and MK, the vote would likely be split 50-50, unless representatives broke party lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While 50-50 splits can result in issues in passing legislation, a majority is not needed to form a government. Gauteng currently has a minority government, with less than 50% of seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barnes said that the NFP will not form a new government with opposition parties and will instead take its place on opposition benches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the party has instructed Shinga to leave her post, only the Premier has the power to fire an MEC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinga previously voted against party orders during a vote of no-confidence in the premier. As reported by News24<\/a>, her party membership has been suspended pending the outcome of a disciplinary inquiry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party<\/strong><\/td>KZN legislature seats<\/strong><\/td>Seat change (vs 2019)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
MK<\/td>37<\/td>+37<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
IFP<\/td>15<\/td>+2<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
ANC<\/td>14<\/td>-30<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
DA<\/td>11<\/td>–<\/td><\/tr>
EFF<\/td>2<\/td>-6<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
NFP<\/td>1<\/td>–<\/td><\/tr>
Total<\/strong><\/td>80<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Source: Seth Thorne<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A land of promise <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While KZN is known to be a highly volatile area, it is also seen as one with massive potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The province has faced a troubling decade, with the issues from the Covid-19 pandemic worsened by massive flooding in 2022. The province also took the brunt of the July 2021 unrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, KZN is South Africa’s second most populous province, and the Durban port provides access to trade with major eastern nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are signs that the province is starting to turn the corner, with an influx of major projects heading to the province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, luxury travel company Club Med<\/a> will soon launch a R2 billion resort along the province’s north coast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearby, Developer IFA Hotels & Resorts (IFAHR) is set to invest billions<\/span> in the Zimbali development, which will feature a marina and a new country estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The province’s South Coast<\/a> is also gaining recognition for its affordable coastal lifestyle and easy accessibility, attracting families, retirees, and investors from across the country.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Freedom Party is leaving KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity, limiting the power of the coalition, and bringing huge uncertainty to the province.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":817769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1875,20750,1329,5115,19983,24469,23223],"class_list":["post-847508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-anc","tag-club-med","tag-da","tag-ifp","tag-mk","tag-nfp","tag-zimbali"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847508"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":847523,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847508\/revisions\/847523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}