IFP takes back-to-basics manifesto to KwaMashu as eThekwini vote looms

The Inkatha Freedom Party launches its manifesto for the 4 November local government elections at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, north of Durban, on Sunday, pitching what its spokesperson calls a back-to-basics programme built on infrastructure, economic growth and the daily living conditions of residents.

The launch is the party’s first full statement of intent for a municipal poll it enters from an unusual position. The IFP finished second in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2024 provincial election with 18,07% of the vote and 15 seats in the provincial legislature, behind the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on 37 seats. It then took the premiership through the Government of Provincial Unity, with Thami Ntuli becoming premier. On the national ballot in the province the party drew 572 491 votes, 16,28% of the provincial total. As The South African reported on 20 September, the party has been preparing the launch on that record.

The pitch

Mkhuleko Hlengwa, the party’s spokesperson and its mayoral candidate for eThekwini, told the SABC the manifesto would be presented on two fronts. Where the IFP governs, it will stand on its track record. Where it does not, it will present itself as an alternative.

“We’ll also be presenting our track record, manifesto successes but also at the same time understanding that we have a long way to go in turning local government around,” Hlengwa said.

He described the document as a “back-to-basics manifesto focusing on infrastructure development, economic growth and just ensuring that the daily living material conditions of the people are actually responded to in real time”, with an emphasis on intergovernmental relations drawn from the party’s experience in the national Government of National Unity and the provincial unity arrangement.

Why eThekwini is the prize

The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is the single largest prize on the 4 November ballot and the hardest to win. It covers Durban and its surrounds, carries the province’s industrial and port economy, and has been run by a coalition arrangement since the 2021 local government elections. Hlengwa’s candidacy for the metro is the clearest signal of where the party believes its growth lies.

KwaMashu is a fitting venue for the launch. The township sits inside the metro, north of the city, and its residents are among those who feel municipal failure first, in water interruptions, uncollected refuse, broken streetlights and long queues for services that are supposed to be a municipality’s basic function.

That is the ground the manifesto has to speak to. A provincial premiership gives the party control of a provincial government. It does not give it a single pipe, a single substation or a single refuse truck in eThekwini. Those sit with the metro, and the metro is what voters will decide on 4 November.

What the party is claiming

Hlengwa said the party had taken time to reflect on its performance in the municipalities it governs and would present both its gains and its remaining distance to travel.

“The solid gains and foundations that have been built. We are quite confident that we will be presenting on two fronts. A credible and viable alternative where the IFP is not in government or in municipalities, secondly, we will continue to build on the gains of 2021 up to date in terms of performance.”

That framing matters for a reader deciding how to vote. A manifesto launch is a promise, not a record. The measurable part is what a party has already done in the councils it controls, and the IFP is asking voters to weigh both.

What happens next

The manifesto launch at Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday is the party’s formal opening of the municipal campaign. The local government elections follow on 4 November, when voters across KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the country elect the councils that deliver water, electricity, refuse collection and rates bills.

Source: The South African, Elections: IFP to launch manifesto in KZN