South Africa: ANC Accuses Buthelezi of Targeting Their Municipalities

By Celani Sikhakhane

ANC provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu says MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi is "selective" in placing municipalities under administration.

The ANC almost quit the Government of Provincial Unity over the issue, but talks to form a new alliance with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party later collapsed.

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has concerns over Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi's interventions in their municipalities.

ANC provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu said Buthelezi's actions are biased.

"We are very worried about Buthelezi's administration to municipalities. His intervention as an MEC is very selective because he only intervenes in ANC-led municipalities," he said on the News Avenue Podcast.

The fight became so serious that the ANC almost pulled out of the Government of Provincial Unity.

According to insiders, the party even drew up a plan to form a new government with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party. But those plans collapsed after talks involving IFP deputy president iNkosi Mzamo Buthelezi and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

The latest issue is the ANC-led uMkhanyakude District Municipality in the far north of the province. The municipality has long suffered from instability, poor service delivery, financial mismanagement and staff shortages.

In February 2021, after an investigation, it was placed under administration. This allows the provincial government to appoint an administrator when a municipality fails to carry out its duties.

The intervention was recently reinforced in July 2025, when the Provincial Executive Council appointed a new administrator to take over the failing municipality.

Cogta has defended its actions, saying the intervention was necessary because the municipality failed to collect debts, mismanaged its finances and could not deliver basic services.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

Copyright © 2025 Scrolla. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.