John Matisson: At last, the cavalry has arrived to rescue eThekwini

Johannesburg is about to get its tenth mayor in eight years, but the focus may shift to eThekwini (Durban) as KwaZulu-Natal's new coalition government gears up for significant reforms. With high stakes for the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC), and Democratic Alliance (DA), there is pressure to improve services before the 2026 municipal elections. President Cyril Ramaphosa has prioritized Durban's turnaround, aiming to prevent a potential MKP takeover that could destabilize the region..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Join us for BizNews' first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA's gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here..By John Matisonn.While Johannesburg is about to install its tenth mayor in eight years, there are signs that government may finally be ready to tackle another large and dysfunctional metro — eThekwini (Durban) – more seriously. .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.The difference reflects the surprising turn of events that has led to what appears to be a business like new provincial coalition government in KwaZulu-Natal, while Gauteng limps on with an unstable minority government to avoid proportionately sharing power with the Democratic Alliance (DA)..There are two reasons for hope for KwaZulu-Natal and its municipalities..The first is fear. .The main coalition partners in KwaZulu-Natal, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the African National Congress (ANC) and the DA, have a lot to lose if they can't show dramatic improvement in services before municipal elections in two years' time..Read more: Former Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse: 'Corrupt' ANC already back to old ways in Joburg, enabled by eight-seat turncoats.The Mkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) took the province by storm in the May elections, gaining 45.35% of the provincial vote a mere six months after the party's launch. That is a sure sign that older parties risk a humiliating defeat in 2026. .The anti-ANC vote reflected dissatisfaction over declining economic conditions and crumbling institutions and services. But the consequences of losing control in the province of more power centres to former President Jacob Zuma's party are serious..This province endured violent unrest in 2021 when Zuma was imprisoned. Zuma has openly encouraged ethnic Zulu nationalism, and the Zulu king's role and culture have always sparked sharper emotions than most other traditional leaders. .Unless the provincial and national coalition governments can show tangible improvement before the 2026 municipal elections, the GNU and GPU experiments could prove a temporary interlude. .The second reason for hope is that the relevant national and provincial ministers who are now responsible for the turnaround mostly come from the same opposition party, the IFP. They are likely to agree on how to restore effective government, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has assigned high-level help from the presidency's Operation Vulindlela..IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa has bagged the ministry of cooperative government and traditional affairs (Cogta). He has already issued a warning that he intends to go further than his predecessors, not only putting faulty municipalities into administration, but dissolving councils and calling new elections if necessary..His IFP colleagues have the KwaZulu-Natal premiership, and the province's MEC for cooperative government is Thulasizwe Buthelezi. Buthelezi's power has been consolidated. He is also the traditional prime minister to the Zulu king. .Another opposition MP will be overseeing Treasury's role. DA Deputy Finance Minister, Ashor Sarupen, has been given responsibility for intergovernmental relations, which includes local government reform..President Cyril Ramaphosa must have been aware that in appointing Hlabisa at Cogta, approving a KwaZulu-Natal premier and Cogta MEC, and a DA deputy minister overseeing the process at the Treasury, that they will likely work closely together..In his opening of parliament address, the president announced the appointment of a eThekwini presidential working group, and tasking the presidency's Operation Vulindlela to make the city a priority. He expects Operation Vulindlela to "translate these priorities into a detailed plan and interventions"..Fixing eThekwini (Durban) is critical to saving the whole of KZN from MKP rule, with all the consequences that entails. If government can't turn the city around substantially in two years, they have nothing to fight the MKP with. Ex-president and MKP leader Jacob Zuma could be in charge..Zuma's support for radically undermining the constitution would be destabilizing nationally. It might even revive occasional talk of a provincial succession from the republic. .Politically, losing KZN to the MKP would be an historic setback for the ANC and the IFP. Several of the ANC's most distinguished presidents were Zulu-speakers from this province, including the founding president, John Dube, and Nobel peace prize winner Chief Albert Luthuli. .For IFP leader Velinkosini Hlabisa, the first leader since the IFP founder, Prince Mangosutho Buthelezi died, it would not be the legacy he wants to leave his party. .Zuma has called for a return to "African law" and an end to constitutional sovereignty. This is a challenge to fundamental principles in the constitution. Ramaphosa, Hlabisa and the DA leadership are committed constitutionalists. Losing to the MKP could lead to damaging conflicts over the nature of the South African state..Read also:.Global funding to help displaced in eThekwini – Mayors Migration Council's Samer SalibaNature exposes eThekwini's gross negligenceEthekwini plans to seek private power generation – a first for SA municipal area

John Matisson: At last, the cavalry has arrived to rescue eThekwini

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