By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial legislature on Friday, elected an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) member Arthur Thami Ntuli as its premier.
Ntuli was elected after the ANC/IFP/DA/NFP coalition trumped MK party in today’s leadership elections in the 80-member legislature.
MK secured 45% of the vote in the provincial elections earlier this month. The party has 37 of the 80 seats, and its ally, the EFF, has 2.
ANC MPL Nontobeko Nothemba Boyce was elected as Speaker of the province with 41 votes and Marvin Dirks received 39 votes.
Dirks demanded that parliament’s live cameras be turned off over fears about the integrity of the secret ballot.
KZN Judge President Thoba Poyo Dlwati overruled objections, and Boyce was installed, followed by a successful vote for Mmabatho Tembe.
Boyce described democracy as “a mess”, but she added: “What sets us apart may not be as important as what brings us together.”
Tembe was elected as the Deputy Speaker, out of 79 ballots, Tembe, a member of the DA, secured 40 votes, making her one of the youngest deputy speakers in the country.
“I do thank my party for giving me a platform. As a young woman, it means so much to me, and I will uphold this office dearly and work for the province of KZN,” Tembe stated.
The IFP’s Ntuli is the former mayor of King Cetshwayo District Municipality and chair of the SA Local Government Association (Salga).
Ntuli expressed the continued support of the province for Zulu monarch MisuZulu ka Zwelithini, whose budget is covered by the KwaZulu-Natal government through the department of the royal household.
“One thing we all know, we all support the king. This government supports the king. We have no question about that,” Ntuli said.
Ntuli said his experience as the chairperson of Salga and as mayor of the King Cetshwayo district municipality would “add value to what the government will be doing to try and assist our municipalities”.
He said he was “humbled” by the opportunity to serve the people of KwaZulu-Natal and by the manner in which the sitting had been conducted.
“It is an important journey that we are starting today,” he said. “We will glean from those who have gone before us to try and make the lives of the people of KwaZulu-Natal better and of our country.” He added that work would start “from today”.
Ntuli will put together a provincial cabinet in coming days and said its composition would be announced on Tuesday when the legislature sits again. He said the parties had a framework agreement for how they would work, and that this would assist in maintaining stability.