By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) has rejected the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party invitation to participate in a multi-party talks which were scheduled to take place on Sunday, 08 March 2026, in Durban.
The talks were meant to develop a new strategy to dismantle the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in Kwazulu/Natal (KZN).
The parties that confirmed their attendance are National Freedom Party (NFP) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), however, ANC said it would not be participating.
The GPU was formed after the 2024 elections when the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), ANC, Democratic Alliance (DA), and NFP joined forces to govern the province, with Thamsanqa Ntuli as premier.
While Ntuli is the premier of KZN, his party only holds 15 of the 80 seats in the KZN legislature.
The ANC (14) and DA (11) hold only 25 of the seats in the legislature, narrowly missing a majority. On the other hand, MK Party holds 37 seats in the provincial legislature, while the EFF holds the remaining two seats.
The EFF and MK party have refused to join coalitions with the ANC, including the Government of National Unity (GNU)—but the far-left-leaning parties only hold a combined 39 seats.
The NFP, which holds a single seat in the 80-member provincial legislature, is the kingmaker in the coalition.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said, “To be honest, MK Party is not our priority. We are busy with ANC work.”
The outcome of the talks is expected to be announced this week.
Despite having met all the GPU partners which are ANC, DA and IFP, the NFP still supports the dismantling of the current provincial coalition it helped to constitute in 2024.
To collapse the GPU, MK Party would need just three seats, which it could get: one from the NFP and two from the EFF, making both key players.
The DA and IFP have made it clear they would never work with MK Party, while the ANC has raised concerns about the party’s lack of governance experience.