‘We will take over’, vows MK party in KZN, claiming it’ll improve service delivery

With the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in KwaZulu‑Natal and its R158-billion budget facing an uncertain future, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party chief whip in the legislature, Bonginkosi Mngadi, says his party is prepared to take the reins.

Should MK take over, the party’s main priority will be to improve service delivery, he said.

“As the MKP, we are very clear… the people of KwaZulu-Natal are confronted with unemployment, poverty and crime. Those are the main things we will deal with,” he said.

Beyond these issues, the people of KZN are also grappling with water challenges (much like the rest of the country) and incomplete infrastructure projects, including roads.

This, according to Mngadi, is an indication that the current government is failing and “taxpayers’ money is not utilised properly”.

His remarks are partly supported by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke, who said in March 2025 that only seven of KwaZulu-Natal’s 54 municipalities achieved clean audits, while most recorded adverse, qualified or unqualified outcomes with findings.

Maluleke said 90% of local government budgets in the province were spent unlawfully, pointing to widespread noncompliance and governance failures. The figures, however, were from 2023/24, and the current government claims it is working to help clean up spending in the province and its municipalities.

Read more: How’s your municipality faring? A visual breakdown of the latest municipal audits

Takeover attempts

The MK party has been trying take control of the province for more than a year, after it emerged as the biggest political party after the 2024 elections, winning 37 seats in the 80-seat KZN legislature, followed by the IFP, which won 15 seats, the ANC (14), the DA (11), the EFF (two) and the NFP (one).

Although the MK party had hoped for a decisive 50%+1 victory in KZN, its dispute over the election results delayed coalition negotiations and opened the door for the IFP, ANC, DA and NFP to form a governing coalition, with a total of 41 seats, leaving the MK party in the cold.

In December 2025, the party’s attempt to oust Premier Thami Ntuli fell short in the legislature. Its motion of no confidence, supported by the EFF, was defeated when the NFP’s only MPL, Mbali Shinga, broke ranks and voted against it, leaving the motion without the majority needed to remove the premier.

Read more: Chaos in legislature as MK loses bid to control KZN

Shinga now faces disciplinary proceedings after declining to resign as an MEC and provincial legislature member, even as her party confirmed its exit from the GPU, and speculation grows about a possible new motion.

“We are ready to govern,” Mngadi said.

This is, however, dependent on whether it can gain the support of the EFF (which he says they have in the bag) and the NFP.

Two weeks ago, NFP president Ivan Barnes said, “We 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.”

It was clear, however, that the party was horse-trading.

It would now appear that some consensus has been reached, at least according to Mngadi.

“The legitimate leadership of the NFP has already said they want to work with MKP because it is the majority party in KZN,” Mngadi said.

As the country moves towards the local government elections scheduled to take place between 2 November 2026 and 31 January 2027, Mngadi said it was important for his party to reclaim its position in the province.

“All we’re saying is that it’s the MKP that must lead the government and negotiations, not the IFP, which received only 18% of the vote. How can you put a premier that was not voted on by the people? The premier must come from the uMkhonto Wesizwe party. The votes of the people of KZN must be respected,” Mngadi said.

The party’s head of presidency, Magasela Mzobe, previously told Daily Maverick that the IFP led the province through “pure criminality”.

“We would not be able to explain our existence if we [didn’t] fight for that; 45% of people who voted in KZN voted for MK, the second party is 18% support, but it has a premier and an MEC. It is undemocratic, it is pure criminality,” Mzobe said.

Meanwhile, the party’s second deputy president, Tony Yengeni, said that following the NFP’s withdrawal from the GPU, the party would work with the EFF to bring yet another motion of no confidence against Ntuli.

“We think that together with the NFP and the EFF, we can put again the vote of no confidence back in the legislature and make a very big dent against the current government,” Yengeni told Newzroom Afrika.

‘Desperate attempts’

On Wednesday, the IFP’s Blessed Gwala rejected the MK party’s “desperate” attempt at a motion of no confidence against Ntuli. “The looters and enablers of State Capture of yesteryear cannot be trusted as the people’s messiahs of today,” he said during a media briefing.

The party stood firmly behind Ntuli, with Gwala saying that under the GPU, the economy was recovering, jobs were being created, investment was growing and municipalities were being stabilised.

KZN public works MEC, Martin Meyer, from the DA, told Daily Maverick in December, “KZN is a better place because of the GPU. MK is a party that publicly disavows the Constitution and sends people to war in Russia. Their members are corrupt.”

At the heart of the MK party’s campaign during the May 2024 elections was a promise to give traditional leaders, known as Amakhosi, more power and a stronger voice through a dedicated council that would play a key role in decision-making within the party. Mngadi said this had not changed and remained among the issues the party would tackle should it assume government.

“Traditional leadership continues to be neglected. Last year, the premier promised that they would install cameras in Amakhosi traditional courts, so that they could be protected. Where is it now? There is not even a report,” Mngadi said.

While the party has had a revolving leadership door, both at the local and national level, raising concerns about its stability and ability to govern, Mngadi maintained it was in a position to run the province.

“There is no party that does not have its own issue or internal dynamics, but what I can assure you is that MKP has deployed the comrades that are equal to the task in the legislature. We are ready to govern,” added Mngadi. DM