The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has sought to project calm over the stability of the KwaZulu-Natal Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
This comes as uncertainty grows following the National Freedom Party’s (NFP) announcement that it intends to withdraw from the coalition and has suspended its sole provincial representative.
Speaking at a media briefing on January 14, 2026, the IFP downplayed suggestions that the provincial government was facing imminent collapse, describing such claims as “misguided”.
With just one seat in the 80-member legislature, the NFP’s departure strips the GPU, comprising the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC), and Democratic Alliance (DA), of its razor-thin majority, leaving it vulnerable to opposition challenges.
The GPU was formed in the aftermath of the 2024 national and provincial elections, where no single party secured an outright majority in KZN.
The IFP’s Thami Ntuli holds the premiership, originally supported by the ANC, DA and NFP, totalling a collective 41 seats against the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP’s) 37 and the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) two.
“We entered this arrangement in good faith, not for positions or political expediency, but because the people of this province deserve a government that puts cooperation above conflict,” IFP’s Blessed Gwala said.
He added that with unemployment, crime and deteriorating infrastructure persisting, “political instability is a luxury our province simply cannot afford”.
The briefing comes amid deepening divisions within the NFP, with factions in the party either for or against working with former President Jacob Zuma’s MK Party.
On January 9, NFP president Ivan Barnes announced the three-month suspension of provincial chairperson Mbali Shinga, who also serves as MEC for Social Development.
Her seat has been central to the GPU’s narrow majority in the provincial legislature.
The dispute arose after Shinga declined to support an MKP motion of no confidence against Ntuli in December 2025, despite a directive from the NFP leadership.
While the NFP has publicly cited “coalition challenges” for its intended exit, the IFP said it had not received formal notification.
“For the record, we have not been officially informed of their decision to pull out of the GPU,” the party said, adding that Shinga “continues to be an integral part of the GPU’s accelerated service delivery agenda”.
The IFP’s national executive committee has since instructed party leaders to engage the NFP to “understand better their areas of concern and difference in order to find lasting solutions.”
The NFP is a splinter party of the IFP formed by the late Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi and other ex-members, due to internal power struggles.
The IFP also used the briefing to defend Ntuli against renewed pressure from the MKP, rejecting a motion of no confidence and accusing its opponents of attempting to destabilise the provincial administration.
“The looters and enablers of state capture of yesteryear cannot be trusted as the people’s messiahs of today,” said Gwala
He argued that claims of failure within the GPU were not borne out of developments under Ntuli’s leadership.
The party pointed to what it described as economic recovery, improved investment, stabilisation of municipalities, declining crime levels and accelerated infrastructure delivery.
The IFP warned against public posturing and destabilisation, saying such actions “play into the hands of the MKP, which does not have the interests of the people of KZN at heart”, and said it remained committed to dialogue and continuity in governance.
With the NFP’s position unresolved, the balance of power in the legislature remains finely poised.
The remaining GPU partners — the IFP, ANC and DA — hold 40 seats, while the MKP and EFF together hold 39, raising the possibility of legislative deadlock should Shinga lose her seat.
NFP in KZN
Shinga, thrust into the national spotlight as “the woman who stopped the MK Party,” has portrayed her stance as a principled defence against political bullying and chaos.
In an interview with the Daily Maverick, she described the MK Party’s behaviour during the no-confidence vote as “disgusting,” Shinga exclaimed, “And I was supposed to work with those people (MK)!”
She framed her defiance as broader than party politics, asserting, “I am standing for justice and precedent. This is down to the emancipation of women.”
Criticising Barnes directly, Shinga claimed he lacked authority to align with MK and EFF, calling it “just his personal choice” and labelling NFP management as “embarrassing… chaos.”
She admitted the party is “highly factionalised,” highlighting deep divisions that have plagued the NFP since its inception.
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