The decision, approved on Wednesday by the metro’s governance and human resource committee, also includes the “restructuring of the emergency mobilising and communication centre (EMACC) and technical service functions,” according to committee chairman Nkosenhle Madlala.

The proposal still has to pass through other committees before it finally lands with the eThekwini executive council.

In a voice note, Madlala acknowledged that KZN SAPS commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, had made it clear that the cameras should be the purview of law enforcement.

At an-anti crime summit earlier this year, Mkhwanazi said that for the past financial year, 40% of crimes committed in KwaZulu-Natal had taken place in the metro.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the city said: “The restructuring plan involves transferring relevant staff, following consultations with stakeholders, including labour unions. Meetings with affected employees were conducted on November 11, 12, and 13 by the disaster management in collaboration with the human capital unit.

“EMACC, which handles emergency mobilising and coordination, will also see its operational activities realigned to improve efficiency. Its technical services component—responsible for maintaining the system’s technology and software—will be transferred to the information management unit under the office of the city manager.”

The Mail & Guardian in September reported how the plans of metro police and provincial SAPS to get some kind of control over crime in the city were being scuppered by infighting over who should be in charge of the CCTV network and its lucrative contracts.

Control and monitoring of the 519-camera strong network should have already been in the control of law enforcement, as mandated by the city manager, well over a year ago.

Durban Metro Police Commissioner Sibonelo Mchunu at the time told the M&G that there would be a significant boost in crime fighting if the cameras were with law enforcement.

Mchunu views the network as essential to the city’s smart policing ambitions, the plan for which is to be phased in over several years and is expected to cost R300 million.

But the cameras remain a bone of contention with opposition parties and residents.

In December, DA councillor Sharmaine Sewshanker said a report brought before the city’s safety, emergency and security committee, on which she sits, showed that only 14% of the cameras were functional.

In the same month, then mayor Mxolisi Kaunda embarked on a public relations exercise at the CCTV control room, where he said the city had spent R100 million to repair and upgrade the network, with the central business district taking priority. Cameras in other areas were still to be repaired and upgraded, he said.

According to a presentation made to the municipality’s security committee just two months ago, only 319 cameras out of the 519 were working in August, leaving 200 offline.

Of the working cameras, 272 were in the central and beachfront area, which has 290 cameras installed.

In the south of the metro, only 78 cameras were working out of a total of 111. In the north, only 21 cameras were working out of 63, and in the west, only 28 were working out of 55.

Disaster management head Vincent Ngubane disputed those numbers, telling the M&G that 400 cameras were operational out of the 519.

According to a report presented at the same security committee meeting, most of the incidents viewed on the cameras (761) were traffic related.

Inked in 2012, the controversial and costly project was supposed to last for only five years. It has, to date, cost taxpayers more than R2.6 billion.  

Project Thusano was initially intended to focus on the maintenance and repair of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) operational vehicle fleet but has morphed to include expensive supplementary agreements such as training soldiers as medical practitioners and mechanical engineers in Cuba.

Mbali Tsotetsi, representing the auditor general, told Scopa that the AGSA had recommended to the minister of defence that all the agreements be reviewed, and that was being done. 

In a written response to a question from the Inkatha Freedom Party in April 2023, then defence minister Thandi Modise said she had “given instructions to review Project Thusano”.   

Tsotetsi made the remarks on Tuesday in response to a question from Scopa chairperson Songezo Zibi.

The Rise Mzansi party leader had asked whether the auditor general had seen the bilateral agreement and been able to ascertain if South Africa was “able to reap the benefits of what the Cubans would do for South Africa, or was it just straight procurement, outside of the framework of the Public Finance Management Act”.

Tsotetsi said the AG had seen the agreement, which stated that “both countries will cooperate on the matters of defence, but does not specify in what manner”.

The supplementary agreements were more detailed, she said. “What we noted there, was that it follows procurement processes in a way, because it says the department of defence will acquire services, and part of those services include the repairs of the military vehicles, training [of medical professionals and so forth].”

It was the auditor general’s opinion that the defence department should have followed a procurement process or, in the absence of a “normal procurement process”, should have obtained a deviation that would justify why the services were procured from Cuba.

In the absence of a deviation being sought from the treasury, it was concluded that the expenses that were incurred would be irregular expenditure, she said.

There was a need to review the bilateral agreement and the supplementary agreements so that there was benefit to the defence department, not only Cuba, she said, and that was happening.

Tsotetsi was joined by colleague Eduard Coetzee, who said the auditor general had been unable to confirm that “appropriate procurement contract management processes were followed at the outset of the contract” between the countries.

To date, 108 defence members have been sent to Cuba to study in three medical professions, according to Coetzee.

The auditor general has previously reported that the defence department paid 136% more (R2.7 million versus R1.1 million) for a medicine student studying in Cuba compared with a South African tertiary institution.

Of the first cohort of 21 medical students sent for training in Cuba, only six successfully completed an 18-month integration course at the University of Pretoria upon their return to South Africa, Coetzee said.

Psychology students, meanwhile, failed to pursue further qualifications required to practise professionally, instead being relegated to administrative roles.

In biomedical engineering, graduates found their Cuban qualifications unrecognised by South African accreditation bodies. The Engineering Council of South Africa and the South African Qualifications Authority do not acknowledge the Cuban curriculum, leaving the students unable to register and practice in their fields.

“The impact of this is that additional spending is incurred compared to if those [students] were trained in South Africa,” said Coetzee.

The root cause of the failures stemmed from poor planning and execution by the defence department, which failed to ensure the Cuban curriculum met South African accreditation standards before enrolling students, he said.

The programme also lacked a clear career development strategy for returning students,  Coetzee added.

Without a structured plan for integrating trained professionals into the workforce, many graduates had been left underused, their skills wasted.

The absence of alignment with domestic healthcare priorities further exacerbated the issue, leaving critical medical posts unfilled despite the heavy investment in training.

The defence department should align future programmes with South African accreditation requirements and healthcare priorities, according to Coetzee and Tsotetsi’s presentation.

Key recommendations included that there be collaboration with the department of health to guarantee that all training programmes meet domestic statutory and accreditation standards.

Local training institutions should also be prioritised to reduce costs and ensure qualifications are directly applicable to the South African context.

Structured career development pathways should be structured to maximise the use of trained professionals and address critical healthcare shortages.

In October, the auditor general told Scopa that the defence department — which received a qualified audit for 2023-24 — had incurred irregular expenditure of R14.39 billion over the past five years, the most, by far, of any government department over the same period of time.

The police service is developing a new Firearm Control Management System to replace its issue-laden Enhanced Firearm Registry System.

One of the key features of the new system is the ability for individuals to apply and pay for firearm licences online, as well as for licensed firearm dealers to submit their returns electronically. Users will also have a profile where they can monitor the progress of their applications.

The current and new system will run concurrently until full migration has taken place.

The new Firearm Control Management System is planned to be fully operational by the end of March 2026, and was one of the many updates police presented to the committee on Wednesday, along with how technology was and could enhance policing.

But when asked by Democratic Alliance committee member Dianne Kohler Barnard — twice — how many officers did not have firearm competency certificates or had failed their firearm tests, none of the senior police representatives present was able to answer. A response would be “submitted in writing” once it was pulled from “the system”, they said.

In 2015, Kohler Barnard caused a stir when she said that as many as 40 000 police members did not have competency certificates, or had failed their competency tests.

Lieutenant General Edith Nonkululeko Mavundla, the SAPS divisional commissioner for technology management services, made the presentation on the new technologies to the committee, but made no mention of budgets or specific costs for plans that included advanced crime-fighting tech such as body and dashboard cameras, and artificial intelligence-driven systems.

Mavundla did, however, say that although the police service’s current information and communication technology was “adequate and maintained” it would require “progressive expansion and upgrade to accommodate technology evolution and its inevitable demands”.

“We are upgrading our technology infrastructure, and yes, we are behind with the upgrades because of the austerities of funding, but at the moment we are able to run on that particular infrastructure,” she said.

She said that SAPS was working on a trial programme involving 41 body-worn cameras, and the police were evaluating various bodycam solutions from suppliers.

This was being done as a “proof of concept” to help SAPS determine the specifications and requirements for a broader body-worn camera deployment across the police service.

She said remotely piloted aircraft were being used for aerial surveillance during large events and in rescue operations. Drones helped reduce the risks to officers by allowing them to cover dangerous or inaccessible areas, she said, but also acknowledged that there were difficulties in retaining skilled personnel such as drone pilots.

Economic Freedom Fighters committee member Molebogeng Letlape asked what provision had been made for the use of improved technology in rural areas, given that many police stations there frequently had problems with phones and signals, and had limited access to or no vehicles.

Mavundla said rural areas were “not enabled with the infrastructure that is relevant to be able to run the new technologies”.

“In the rural areas, you may not be able to even find any telecommunication entity that is in that particular area, because that area doesn’t bring business to the telecommunication suppliers,” she said.

Rural areas still needed to be policed, Mavundla said, but with “relevant technologies” such as analogue, which was “still being maintained … and upgraded in rural areas”.

Kohler Barnard raised concerns about historical problems with the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and the lack of fingerprint capacity at myriad police stations.

Mavundla said AFIS was used to verify individual identities, check for prior convictions and determine the wanted status of people in real-time during operations, but did not say whether the problems experienced with AFIS had been fully resolved.

ActionSA committee member Dareleen James asked whether any police station in the country where the current technologies and systems spoken of by Mavundla were fully operational. 

When Mavundla answered, James accused her of obfuscation. After this, Mavundla said “Johannesburg Central”.  

As for facial recognition technology, Mavundla said agreements between the police service and the private sector, including private security companies with vast camera networks already in place, would ensure police could use technology that was “already out there”, to avoid duplication.

The goal was to leverage existing infrastructure and databases to enhance the police’s ability to identify and track individuals of interest, particularly at border areas such as airports.

There were, however, issues with water management, she said, and consumers — including municipalities — should use the resource with greater care.

“If we are to avoid water shortages in future, South Africans need to change their behaviour and treat water like the scarce resource that it is,” said Majodina, repeating something she often says about the country’s relationship with water. 

“Municipalities must fix the leaks in their water distribution systems. We cannot afford to be throwing away almost half of the water that is supplied to municipalities through leaks,” she said.

Majodinas statement’s come a day after the constitutional court announced that it had to halt physical or in-court case hearings since November 1 because of unreliable water supply in the court building.

The court said via a statement that the exact cause of the “water supply challenge” was unknown, but it appeared to be generalised in the Hillbrow area, where the court is located. Leaks had also been detected in the court’s water system, but those had been addressed by a plumber.

“Whilst the court has a water tank installed for ablution facilities, this back up water supply lasts for only one working day, and the City of Johannesburg is unable to refill it promptly on a daily basis to allow Court operations to continue uninterrupted. In the result, the Court has been unable to conduct physical or in-court case hearings.

“Constitutional Court management is in regular contact with the City of Johannesburg and Rand Water regarding the ongoing water supply challenges in the Hillbrow area. The Court will provide an update to court users when more information comes to light,” the court said.

Municipalities countrywide are battling with delivery of potable water to residents — the result of years of neglect of infrastructure and underspending — with the metros of Johannesburg in Gauteng and eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal being particularly hard hit and suffering weekly outages that draw the ire of ratepayers and erode business confidence.

The water supply disruptions in both of those metros and surrounding municipalities were the result of a rapid increase in demand, population growth and “partly by [increased] leaks in municipal water distribution systems,” said Majodina.

Water losses in Gauteng municipalities averaged 33%, she said. In eThekwini, the average was about 45%. The international norm is 15%.

“The leaks are, in turn, the result of under-budgeting for infrastructure maintenance by municipalities, which is partly caused by weak municipal billing and revenue collection for water services,” the minister said.

According to the water department’s own Drop reports, 46% of South Africa’s water supply systems do not comply with safety standards, 67.6% of waste-water treatment systems are failing and 47.4% of the country’s water is lost or unaccounted for.

While new dams were being constructed, and others upgraded, there were limits to this, Majodina said.  

“We are already harnessing approximately 75% of our utilisable surface water resources, and the remaining opportunities for capturing surface water in large dams are expensive.

“Broadening of South Africa’s water resource mix is therefore critical for water security. We need to diversify the water resource mix by increasing the sustainable use of groundwater, making more use of desalination of sea water in our coastal towns and cities, and by re-using water from the waste-water treatment systems in our towns and cities,” she said.

“Broadening” the water mix has been under consideration for over a decade, at least since the last full Drop reports were published in 2014, but lack of haste and implementation has been named as a critical failure of the previously ANC-led government, according to water experts and activists.

Majodina said the decline of water delivery at municipal level had happened “despite high levels of support from the national government”. This included more than R60 billion provided annually for water and sanitation infrastructure grants and free basic water for the poor.

“The solution is not for national government to take over municipal water functions. Municipalities must be made to work better,” she said.

Reforms should focus on ensuring that municipal water services are professionally run and financially sustainable, supported by stronger legislative measures like the proposed Water Services Amendment Bill, which would require municipal water services providers to obtain an operating licence to ensure basic competency, she said.

Further reforms from the treasury should mandate that revenue from water services is reinvested in those services, with grant conditions incentivising better management and financial sustainability.

In response to Majodina’s speech, the Democratic Alliance deputy spokesperson on water, Stephen Moore, said the minister was aware of which municipalities were failing in their mandates. They should be named, he said, and the delinquent ones potentially taken to court. 

There was a need for greater accountability, better municipal management and a cooperative approach from national government departments to address crises at local government level, Moore added.

In their responses to Majodina, the United Democratic Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party and African Christian Democratic Party all urged the minister to acknowledge the crisis.

Wouter Wessels of the Freedom Front Plus said water losses and infrastructure were problems that needed to be resolved, instead of the consumer being blamed. 

Public departments and entities were notorious for water losses, all taking place under the watch of the government, he said, adding: “We should first start there.”

Wessels said there were towns in the Free State that had been without water for 14 days. 

In December, a survey conducted by the Freedom Front Plus found that 38 towns in the Free State had “no or very limited access to water”. The party said at the time that in Parys, the waterworks were not functioning optimally and some residents had been without water for 40 days. 

Towns such as Wepener, Ventersburg, Brandfort, Theunissen, Winburg and Edenville had had no water for more than two months, the party said.

Wessels told Majodina that there was “no hope” in some small Free State towns. 

“There have been certain interventions with boreholes but the department has failed to provide the necessary equipment … that is not because of higher consumption and people wasting water,” he said.

The discord between the national power utility and City Power had escalated and brought about “significant amounts of unease” to residents and businesses, Ramokgopa said at a media briefing on Monday. 

“At the heart of this dispute is City Power, and by extension the City of Johannesburg, which is aggrieved about the accuracy of [Eskom’s billing].”

On Friday, Eskom said it had served a notice of intention to suspend supply to the city because of City Power’s R4.9 billion arrears account. The city’s current account stood at R1.4 billion, Eskom said, and that was payable at the end of November.

In a strongly-worded rebuke on the same day, the city issued a statement saying that it was in a dispute with the national power utility for overbilling of more than R3.4 billion.  

Ramokgopa said the current dispute centred on an October 2023 bill. “[City Power and COJ said that] until this matter is rectified, we are going to offset that which we think you owe us against the billing, and therefore we will pay you the difference.”

But he party that was billed — City Power — had an obligation to pay, he said.

Ramokgopa said he had stepped into the ongoing negotiations because Eskom and City Power had not been able to “find each other”. It was decided not to restart the negotiating process, he added.

A “point of failure” in the negotiations had been identified, he said, in that an independent technical assessment was needed to reconcile and confirm the billing from Eskom, and City Power’s claims.

“Independent in this instance would mean someone who doesn’t have a current association with either party,” he said. 

There were state institutions that had the necessary capacity to do an assessment, which is why it was agreed that the South African National Energy Development Institute would take on the role, along with “someone who is technically competent”.

That person would be supported by two people each from Eskom and City Power.

The assessment was expected within the next 14 days. It was hoped that a “much more enduring solution” would be found after that, he said.    

Ramokgopa also said that the “challenges” being experienced in the city were emblematic of those faced in all municipalities across South Africa.

“We have seen that the municipalities are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their obligations as a result of a revenue base that is contracting, partly because of the underperformance of the economy.

“It is also as a result of the haemorrhaging of skills at the local government level, the inability for us to ensure that there’s completeness of billing, inability to ensure that there’s accurate billing, and ineffective credit control measures.

“All of these things have resulted in municipalities’ revenue base contracting.”

Using an example of how quickly municipal debt accumulated, he said that during one of his regular performance updates about the country’s grid earlier in the year, municipalities cumulatively owed Eskom about R78 billion. Three months later, that amount had increased to R90 billion.

“Essentially, we are seeing an average increase of debt of about R3 billion a month.”

Ramokgopa said he accepted that the tariff dispensation during the winter period was higher than the other periods of the year. “So this might not be an accurate reflection of what the trend line is, but the point I’m making is that the trend line is on the up and just on the account of the past three months that debt … is sitting now at R90 billion.”

If Johannesburg failed, South Africa’s economy would fail, he said.

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero said at the briefing that there had been ongoing disputes with Eskom, but this was not related to cash flow “as the city has committed to pay Eskom”. Rather, there was a problem meeting payment deadlines.

There would be a “one week or two week delay depending on the cash flow position of the city,” he said.

City Power chief executive Tshifularo Mashava said there had been “challenges” since 2019 with Eskom’s billing. She said past billing disputes had been corrected, but the current dispute had to be subjected to “a process” so that Eskom and the municipal entity could “find each other”.

The 2024 report, which surveyed 206 corporate taxpayers, indicates discontent over Sars’ extended timelines, slow processing of verifications and increasingly aggressive stance on penalties.

South Africa faces a tax revenue shortfall of R22.3 billion, as announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his medium-term budget policy statement last month. 

According to the survey, verification processes with Sars have become synonymous with lengthy delays and costly uncertainty for businesses.

Despite the revenue agency’s efforts to streamline compliance, PwC’s report suggests that verification timelines continue to exceed reasonable expectations, leaving many taxpayers in a prolonged state of limbo.

The survey found that 48% of corporate income tax verifications took one to three months to complete — a timeframe that many businesses already consider excessive.

But 27% reported even longer waits of three to six months, which, while being a slight improvement from previous years, still represents a significant drain on resources and planning.

Eight percent of respondents said corporate income tax verifications endured for more than 12 months, a figure that was 3% in 2023.

Extended verifications not only impose financial burdens on businesses but also create operational uncertainty as companies wait to see if additional taxes or penalties will be imposed.

The sluggish pace of the verifications, according to PwC’s analysis, raises questions about Sars’ ability to efficiently manage its workload, despite recent restructurings and new hires.

Aggressive penalties

Adding to taxpayer frustration is Sars’ approach to penalties, specifically understatement penalties (USP), which are levied when taxpayers are found to have under-reported income.

This year, PwC introduced a new survey question on Sars’ stance toward these penalties, and the responses suggest a perception that the revenue service is increasingly punitive.

The survey shows that 44% of participants view Sars as “aggressive” in its application of USPs, while 27% consider the agency “moderately aggressive”.

The perceptions are grounded in experiences where Sars has reportedly imposed penalties based on strict or disputed interpretations of tax law, often leaving taxpayers little choice but to undertake lengthy and costly objections.

Only 24% of respondents felt the penalties were fair or “completely fair”, while 4% said penalties were based on Sars’ misunderstanding of the taxpayer’s financials.

Sars’ apparent shift toward a more punitive approach is probably a response to the agency’s ongoing battle against non-compliance, but PwC’s findings suggest the strategy is eroding taxpayer trust rather than bolstering compliance.

For businesses already managing high costs, penalties that feel punitive rather than corrective add to the perceived adversarial relationship between Sars and taxpayers.

Inconsistent adherence to service charter timelines

In 2018, Sars introduced its Service Charter, promising taxpayers transparent timelines and a reliable service experience. But six years on, most corporate taxpayers feel the promises are rarely met.

In the survey, only 3% of respondents “strongly agreed” that Sars’ service had improved, while nearly half expressed outright dissatisfaction.

Sars’ inconsistency in adhering to timelines, particularly those mandated by its own charter and the Tax Administration Act (TAA), has exacerbated taxpayer frustration.

About 61% of survey respondents either “strongly disagree” or “disagree” that Sars reliably respects these timelines — a slight improvement from prior years but still an indication that delays remain widespread.

In the additional comments section of the segment, taxpayers frequently noted the problems they face in receiving timely responses from Sars, with some saying they often had to follow up multiple times to receive even basic updates.

According to one respondent: “Sars just disregards all deadlines established in the TAA and the Service Charter with no repercussions.”

Sars’ modernisation efforts appear to have had some effect, with about 54% of taxpayers saying that compliance has become easier because of measures such as automated assessments.

While this shift aligns with Sars’ second strategic objective of simplifying tax compliance,  nearly half of respondents still report compliance difficulties.

The city called Eskom’s intentions — also issued via a statement on Thursday night — “unjust, counterproductive, and potentially harmful to the residents and businesses of Johannesburg”.

Eskom said City Power owed it R4.9 billion, excluding the current account of R1.4 billion, which is payable at the end of November.

But according to the city, it is in a dispute with the national power utility for overbilling of more than R3.4 billion.    

It alleges that Eskom has failed to provide clarity on the disputed billing charges, compelling the city to consider legal avenues to protect its interests.

“We urge Eskom to retract its public notice and engage in genuine, good-faith negotiations to resolve these issues constructively,” said City Power CFO Tebogo Moraka.

Moraka said Eskom’s “pay now and resolve disputes later” approach worsened financial strain on the city.

The city is consulting with its legal team to explore legal avenues to prevent any disruptions to electricity supply, he added.

“We urge Eskom to reassess its stance and engage with the city in finding a mutually beneficial resolution. In the meantime, the city has formally requested that Eskom retract is public notice within five days,” said Moraka.

In its statement, Eskom cited the outstanding debt and a pattern of delayed payments by City Power.

The national utility claims it issued the interruption notice under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) as a final step after extensive but unsuccessful attempts to resolve the payment dispute.

Eskom said it had a responsibility to ensure an affordable and reliable electricity supply to the broader South African population, and that it could not sustain unpaid debts from municipalities without impacting service to other areas.

“When entities like the CoJ fail to pay Eskom timeously, or at all it forces Eskom to borrow additional money at premiums to fund operational costs. Operational costs should be funded by revenue generated by electricity sales and not by borrowing.”

It said that the PAJA process allows for formal representations, offering the City of Johannesburg an opportunity to present its case before the final decision is made.

Eskom said it would be issuing a public notice on Friday inviting “all interested and affected parties to submit written representations, comments, and/or submissions” indicating why it should not go ahead with the planned disruptions.   

Eskom has set 12 December 2024 as the date to announce whether it will proceed with the power cuts, based on feedback received.

Trump won the popular vote and received enough swing state votes to surpass the 270 needed for the Electoral College.

In front of an enthusiastic crowd at his campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump framed the moment as the start of a “golden age of America”.

His running mate, JD Vance, joined him at the campaign headquarters, alongside high-profile supporters like former Democrat RFK Jr, right wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, and British MP Nigel Farage.

As Trump and his family walked onto the stage, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” played to a cheering crowd that chanted, “USA, USA,” as Trump approached the podium.

“Frankly, I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in our country or beyond,” Trump said, drawing applause.

He said the movement would “reach a new level” as America began to “heal”.

“Our country needs this very badly,” he added, pledging to “fix our borders and everything about our country”.

Trump described his campaign as a historic achievement, saying, “We overcame obstacles no one thought possible”.

He thanked voters, calling his re-election a “political victory the United States had never seen before”.

“I want to thank the American people for the honour of being elected as your 47th president and as your 45th president,” he said.

“To every citizen, I will fight for you, your family, and your future. I will not stop until we’ve delivered the strong, safe, and prosperous America that your children and you deserve.”

North Carolina — which Trump and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris visited repeatedly while campaigning — became the first swing state to lean red.

The result had been a “magnificent victory”, he said.

Republicans have also taken the Senate and appear to be in line to retain control of the House.

Harris gave a concession speech in Washington DC, telling the audience she had phoned Trump, conceded, and told him she would assist with a “peaceful transfer of power”.

“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say…the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep on fighting,” she said.

His statement comes after ANC provincial chair Siboniso Duma, provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo and deputy ANC KZN chair Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu openly criticised Buthelezi at a press briefing, accusing him of divisiveness within the government of provincial unity (GPU) and taking politically motivated actions against traditional leaders and ANC-run municipalities.

In a strongly-worded statement, Buthelezi said he served at the behest of premier Thamsanqa Ntuli and not the ANC.

He pushed back on what he said was an attempt to paint him as a “weak link” within the unity government, calling it a tactic aimed at undermining his influence.

“I do not take my marching orders from the ANC,” Buthelezi said.

He characterised the ANC’s comments as attempts to isolate him from the IFP, suggesting that they stem from the party’s discomfort with its significant loss in the province following the May 29 elections.

“The ANC needs to come to terms with their dramatic loss of power,” he said, referencing the party’s decline in influence following years of governance that he claimed had led to “the collapse of governance and service delivery” in KwaZulu-Natal.

Buthelezi said that ANC leaders were engaged in a coordinated effort to undermine his work as Cogta MEC and as the traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation.

“None of these tactics by the ANC will intimidate me nor deter me from executing my responsibilities as an MEC serving under an IFP Premier,” he declared.

Buthelezi also issued a strong rebuke of the ANC’s governance record, particularly within provincial Cogta during the previous administration.

He accused the ANC of fostering an environment rife with “corruption and malfeasance” and said that he would not shield any misconduct of his predecessors.

“I will not mollycoddle the corruption and malfeasance that was the order of the day in the Cogta department in the sixth administration.”

During its media briefing on Monday marking 100 days of the provincial unity government, Duma called Buthelezi “divisive” and the Democratic Alliance uncooperative.

He said that ANC officials had received complaints from traditional leaders about Buthelezi’s conduct, which they believed was politically motivated.

“Ours is to defend the hegemony of Izinduna,” Duma said.

Further allegations against Buthelezi involved the termination of contracts for workers associated with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), reportedly at his direction.

Duma said that Buthelezi’s actions were out of sync with the GNU’s goals, and risked alienating workers and traditional leaders who were instrumental in maintaining rural support.

“Buthelezi believes that he is above the GNU and his political party, the IFP. He is very divisive in nature. And his mission is to take us backward,” Duma said.

Despite all of this, Duma said the coalition government would continue to serve KZN residents for the next five years.

At the same media briefing, Simelane-Zulu said there were “no tensions” in the unity government, and that the ANC worked well with the IFP leadership, but that Buthelezi was a “rotten potato”.

Since Buthelezi was appointed an MEC, he had used his position to “settle scores”, she said, by ensuring that he “goes after” ANC run municipalities in the province.

She said the ANC would not accept Buthelezi’s actions and was engaging IFP leadership on the matter.

ANC chairman Siboniso Duma made the remarks at the Radisson Blu Hotel Umhlanga, where he and other provincial executive committee members had gathered to “reflect” on 100 days of the unity government, and what the ANC had achieved.

Duma said the ANC would continue to take a strong stance on the DA’s “tendencies” and any actions that threatened the ANC’s goals.

He added that the ANC would evaluate its partnership with the DA continuously, maintaining that the collaboration was tactical rather than ideological.

“The DA will always be a centre-right party that has the capacity to hamper progress toward the fulfilment of the Freedom Charter,” he said, indicating that the alliance was one of convenience rather than shared vision.

Duma said the ANC’s concerns extended to the IFP, with a particular focus on the conduct of Buthelezi, the MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs.

According to Duma, Buthelezi has been targeting traditional leaders with the aim of removing them — a move the ANC viewed as disruptive to the stability of the unity government. 

He said ANC officials had received complaints from traditional leaders about Buthelezi’s conduct, which they believed was politically motivated.

 “Ours is to defend the hegemony of izinduna,” Duma said.

Other allegations made against Buthelezi involved the termination of contracts for workers associated with the expanded public works programme, reportedly at his direction.

Duma said Buthelezi’s actions were out of sync with the unity government’s goals, and risked alienating workers and traditional leaders who were instrumental in maintaining rural support.

“Buthelezi believes that he is above the GNU and his political party, the IFP. He is very divisive in nature. And his mission is to take us backward,” Duma said.

Despite all of this, Duma said the coalition government would continue to serve residents for the next five years.

“We wish to assure the people of KwaZulu-Natal that the GNU is stable and will remain alive,” he said. 

But Duma also warned that future cooperation with the DA and IFP would be conditional, with a renewed focus on advancing its own mandate.

“Working collectively with other parties does not imply that we will forsake our identity, values, and programme of action,” Duma said, emphasising that the ANC would not compromise on its goals of building a “non-racial, non-sexist, democratic” South Africa.

Also at the briefing was ANC deputy provincial chair Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, who said there were “no tensions” in the unity government.

“We have a very good relationship with the NFP (National Freedom Party), and with the leadership of the IFP, with the exception of MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi. The tension with the DA is ideological and will always be there because we are on two different ends of the [ideological] spectrum,” Simelane-Zulu said, adding that they could still work together.

There was a “maturity” and understanding in the provincial cabinet and legislature that all parties had to work together, she said, but quickly added: “Of course, the DA only has an interest in the white minority in the province; they only have the interests of white monopoly capital [sic], and that is something that we know about them.”

She said that when the ANC met with the DA, it did so “with the understanding of who they are”.

The DA did not represent the interests of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, she said. “We know that they don’t care about the interests of black people in this province in particular.”

There was “no tension” between the ANC and the IFP leadership at provincial level, she said, but there was a “rotten potato” in the form of Buthelezi.

Since Buthelezi was appointed MEC, he had used his position to “settle scores”, she said, by ensuring that he “goes after” ANC run municipalities in the province.

Simelane-Zulu said the ANC would not accept Buthelezi’s actions and was talking to the IFP leadership on the matter.