Durban — Opposition parties have cautiously welcomed the election of Nomusa Dube-Ncube as the premier of KwaZulu-Natal.
At the KZN Legislature meeting in Mooi River on Wednesday, opposition parties reminded her that she would be held accountable for anything the government would be doing under her.
The IFP, the official opposition in KZN, doubted she would be able to change anything, saying she was a compromised premier because she would find it difficult to reprimand Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka, her colleagues.
IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa said Dube-Ncube would find it difficult to command her colleagues during the day because in the afternoon in an ANC party meeting they were the ones who would hold her accountable.
Hlabisa said the IFP would not call upon Dube-Ncube to conduct lifestyle audits for legislature members. He said she could not succeed in something that could not be done by her predecessor, Sihle Zikalala. He said Zikalala had political power as the ANC provincial chairperson but was scared of doing something that would expose corruption among his party members.
Hlabisa defended his party’s decision not to field a candidate to contest the premiership, saying there was no reason, since the party candidate would take over the reins after the 2024 elections. He said his party’s position was a principled one.
He added that since the people of the province had chosen the ANC in the 2019 elections, the IFP was already preparing to take the province forward after the 2024 elections.
The DA, the only party to field a candidate against Dube-Ncube, said that was proof that it was the only alternative to the ANC as no other party had fielded a candidate. DA leader Francois Rodgers said his party would be watching Dube-Ncube closely and vowed to hold her accountable.
EFF party leader Vusi Khoza reminded Dube-Ncube that farm dwellers in the province were still suffering and izinduna were still owed their back pay from the government, which had failed to address the issue.
The new premier was also congratulated by the National Freedom Party, the African Transformation Movement, the Minority Front and the African Christian Democratic Party. They pledged their support to work with her. These parties have one seat each in the legislature.
Daily News