{"id":15747,"date":"2026-01-10T19:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T19:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15747\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T19:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T19:11:10","slug":"kzn-kingmaker-or-horse-trader-inside-nfps-high-stakes-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15747\/","title":{"rendered":"KZN kingmaker or horse-trader? Inside NFP\u2019s high-stakes game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leaders of the lesser-known National Freedom Party (NFP) held a two-hour press conference in Durban on Friday, 9 January, but it is unclear exactly what the KwaZulu-Natal kingmakers want.<\/p>\n

Most likely, they are horse-trading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will remain in opposition until we are re-engaged by parties that want to govern KZN. We will not sell our souls this time around,\u201d party president Ivan Barnes said.<\/p>\n

Earlier, he told journalists: \u201cThere is no agreement between the NFP, MK party [uMkhonto Wesizwe party] and the Economic Freedom Fighters with regard to governing KZN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnes appears to have consolidated control of his fractured party, which sided with the EFF and MK in a failed bid to wrest control of the provincial legislature on 15 December.<\/p>\n

\"Greg-NFP-coalition\"NFP president Ivan Barnes briefs the media about its position in the KwaZulu-Natal Government of Provincial Unity. (Photo: Mandla Langa) \"Greg-Shinga-KZN\"MK party members block police during the bid to oust KwaZulu-Natal premier in Pietermaritzburg on 15 December 15. (Photo: Darren Stewart \/ Gallo Image) <\/p>\n

Mbali Shinga, the NFP\u2019s sole MPL, was the only obstacle to those three parties\u2019 securing a majority over Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) members, led by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and including the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).<\/p>\n

Read more: The woman who stopped the MK party\u2019s power takeover bid in KZN<\/a><\/p>\n

Barnes and NFP party leaders, who initially agreed to join the GPU, say Shinga has gone rogue.<\/p>\n

They have suspended her membership for three months pending the outcome of a three-day disciplinary hearing next week.<\/p>\n

She defied Barnes and others in her party when they ordered her to turn her back on the GPU she serves to support the MK party\u2019s takeover bid.<\/p>\n

\u2018A mighty organisation\u2019<\/p>\n

Flanked by NFP leaders, including acting secretary-general Sunset Xaba and deputy KZN secretary Zethembe Ngobese, Barnes denied the party had a leadership crisis.<\/p>\n

He promised Shinga will receive a fair disciplinary hearing.<\/p>\n

\"Greg-Shinga-KZN\"Mbali Shinga is facing a disciplinary after defying orders from her party, the NFP. (Photo: Darren Stewart \/ Gallo Images) <\/p>\n

He also defended the NFP\u2019s bid to secure positions in GPU-related deals, shedding some light on why his party wanted to leave the GPU.<\/p>\n

The relationship soured with the ANC and IFP, particularly the latter, which he said was poaching municipal NFP councillors in Zululand municipalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur GPU partners were shaking our hands in Pietermaritzburg [in the legislature] and stabbing us in our backs in Zululand councils [\u2026] and we gave these people the premiership.\u201d<\/p>\n

In apparent reference to the NFP\u2019s bid to help the MK party win control of KZN, Ngobese said: \u201cThe whole of South Africa was shaking because of our 1% [electoral support \u2026] but they ignored us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: Chaos in legislature as MK loses bid to control KZN<\/a><\/p>\n

The party actually secured 0.12% of the national poll, but a fiery Ngobese said the NFP wasn\u2019t a \u201cpuppy\u201d prepared to run after the big dogs. \u201cWe are a mighty organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

NFP leaders attributed their party\u2019s withdrawal from the GPU to the poaching of its councillors, snubbing of its leadership and the party\u2019s disapproval of crookery in some provincial departments.<\/p>\n

And because the GPU was a stooge of white monopoly capital, Xaba said in a speech full of revolutionary fervour delivered ahead of media questions.<\/p>\n

Xulu\u2019s speech offered no details on what the party would pursue if it gained access to state power.<\/p>\n

He said GPU was \u201ca dictatorship with a smile\u201d that was a cover for political elites who are cosying up to extractive mining capitalists.<\/p>\n

Xulu was unable to name the extractive miners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voices of the electorate, especially those of South African natives, the historically condemned and dispossessed, have been systematically strangled. In this province, natives vote but do not rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

He accused the DA of roguery and the IFP and ANC of hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

Barnes later said the NFP intends to meet the ANC once their diaries aligned.<\/p>\n

The NFP was willing to meet with anyone to create a government, he added.<\/p>\n

Read more: Kingmakers, knives and numbers: The vote that could hand KZN to Zuma\u2019s MK party<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re horse-trading\u2019<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the ANC\u2019s KZN task team co-ordinator, Mike Mabuyakhulu, said he noted the NFP\u2019s instruction to Shinga to resign from the provincial executive council.<\/p>\n

She is MEC for social development in the GPU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ANC respects the fact that the NFP has a right to make decisions about its allegiances. However, the ANC will seek bilateral engagement with the NFP [\u2026] on the wider implications of its decision, beyond the GPU,\u201d Mabuyakhulu said.<\/p>\n

Francois Rogers, the KZN MEC for finance and the DA leader in the legislature, said: \u201cBarnes is horse-trading. He is waiting for an offer. That is why he isn\u2019t saying outright that he won\u2019t work with the GPU.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy suspend Mbali for three months when her disciplinary will be over in days? He\u2019s buying himself time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarnes has always been about position. When we started the GPU negotiation in June last year, Barnes arrived 1.5 hours late because he was meeting [MK party leader] Jacob Zuma before he came to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone sent us a picture. When he arrived, he said he wanted to be the district mayor of Zululand. Everybody was taken aback and said that wasn\u2019t on the table. The NFP claims to be about service delivery, but a political stalemate in KZN will paralyse service delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IFP didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

A GPU cabinet member who asked not to be named said: \u201cThis needs to be taken seriously. I cannot see GPU partners allowing MK to take over KZN ahead of the elections. The NFP is a small party in turmoil, but it is making the most of this crisis to fly its flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Barnes said: \u201cThe NFP has been labelled as many things [\u2026] including a party after positions. [\u2026] The DA joined the GPU for positions so that\u2019s neither here nor there. All parties joined for positions.”<\/p>\n

Shinga will attend her disciplinary hearing, but doesn\u2019t expect a fair trial.<\/p>\n

She refuses to leave the GPU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not leaving the legislature. I was voted for by the people in KZN,\u201d she told Daily Maverick on Friday. DM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leaders of the lesser-known National Freedom Party (NFP) held a two-hour press conference in Durban on Friday, 9…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[4332,10243,7393,7394,10242,4454,10240,10238,10239,2102,4457,10241,10237,131,10236],"class_list":{"0":"post-15747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-anc","9":"tag-coalition","10":"tag-da","11":"tag-eff","12":"tag-government-of-provincial-unity","13":"tag-greg-arde","14":"tag-ifp","15":"tag-ivan-barnes","16":"tag-kwazulu-natal-politics","17":"tag-kzn","18":"tag-mbali-shinga","19":"tag-mk-party","20":"tag-nfp","21":"tag-south-africa","22":"tag-zethembe-ngobese"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}