The secretary of the National Freedom Party (NFP)’s national deployment committee, Zoe Mtshali, has allayed fears of the removal of the KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga.
This comes after party President Ivan Barnes’s statement on Sunday, where he announced that his party was withdrawing confidence in Premier Thami Ntuli, which Shinga publicly distanced herself from.
Barnes also stated that his party would back the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP) motion of no confidence against Ntuli, of which Shinga denied knowledge.
However, Mtshali disputed Barnes, saying that there is no party resolution to abandon the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU). She also clarified that there is no decision to remove Shinga from her legislature seat and as MEC.
Mtshali further stated that for Shinga to be removed from both her seat and her MEC position, the deployment committee, not Barnes or the national executive committee (NEC), will decide.
She explained that the deployment committee is an independent structure from the NEC and it is the one that has the power to deploy and recall any member from her or his deployment, not the president or the NEC.
The deployment committee recommends names to be deployed to the NEC for concurrence; however, the power to deploy or recall remains with the deployment committee.
“I wish to assure the people of the province that we, as the deployment committee, have not taken any decision to recall Shinga. I also wish to state that there is no NEC decision to pull out from the GPU.
“Withdrawing confidence did not mean pulling out of the coalition. Our view is that any differences or unhappiness about the premier’s performance can still be negotiated; therefore, we are not pulling out, and we will not support the MKP motion,” said Mtshali
Furthermore, she said that after hearing about the president’s statement, she called the Acting Secretary-General, Sunset Xaba, and asked him whether there was an NEC decision to pull out from the GPU, of which he said there was none.
Mtshali further explained that after the NEC wrote to Shinga and other councillors to resign from their positions, Barnes later wrote another letter withdrawing the decision.
She said this means that the pending court cases filed by Shinga and councillors will be a formality, and the party will likely not oppose them in court
Shinga’s case is scheduled for November 19 in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. She had gone to court after Barnes wrote to her and asked her to vacate her seat earlier this year.
Shinga argued that her removal cannot happen without consultation with the provincial executive committee, which played a role in her deployment.
She is the chairperson of the provincial executive committee, while Mtshali is her secretary.
The party’s internal wrangles have renewed fears of the GPU’s future. The NFP is a crucial partner in this political arrangement as a kingmaker.
In the 80-seat chamber, the GPU, which is made up of the IFP, ANC, DA, and NFP, makes up to 41, while the MKP and EFF combined reach 39. This means that if NFP switches sides, both coalitions will tie, and 40 will cause instability.
While both the NFP and the DA reject the MKP motion, the ANC stated that it has not yet decided whether to support or reject it.
