The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says local government has to work for the country to work as it prepares to launch its manifesto for the 4 November local government elections.
The party will launch its manifesto at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, north of Durban, on Sunday, 20 September.
IFP EYES LOCAL GOVERNMENT GAINSThe manifesto launch comes as the IFP seeks to build on its position in KwaZulu-Natal, its traditional political stronghold, following the 2024 general elections.
In the 2024 KwaZulu-Natal provincial election, the IFP secured 18.07% of the vote and 15 seats in the provincial legislature, finishing second behind the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party), which won 37 seats.
The IFP subsequently secured the premiership through the formation of a Government of Provincial Unity, with Thami Ntuli becoming KwaZulu-Natal premier.
On the national ballot in KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP received 572,491 votes, representing 16.28% of the provincial vote.
🎥📺 SABC INTERVIEW | ALL SYSTEMS GO! 🇿🇦🔥
— #VoteIFP (@vote_ifp) September 19, 2026
IFP Spokesperson and eThekwini Mayoral Candidate, Hon. Mkhuleko Hlengwa MP, spoke to SABC with exciting news ahead of the IFP Manifesto Launch tomorrow at Princess Magogo Stadium! 🏟️🙌
📣 All systems are GO!
The IFP is ready to unveil… pic.twitter.com/UhPaioLAki
BUILDING ON 2024 GAINS
The party has also continued to contest local government through municipalities and by-elections in the province.
In an interview with the SABC, IFP spokesperson and party mayoral candidate for the eThekwini Municipality, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, said the party had taken time to reflect on its performance at local government level in the municipalities it governs.
“We’ll also be presenting our track record, manifesto successes but also at the same time understanding that we have a long way to go in turning local government around.
“The solid gains and foundations that have been built. We are quite confident that we will be presenting on two fronts; a credible and viable alternative where the IFP is not in government or in municipalities, secondly, we will continue to build on the gains of 2021 up to date in terms of performance.”
Hlengwa said the manifesto would focus on the fundamentals of local government, including infrastructure development, economic growth and improving residents’ daily living conditions.
“It will be a back-to-basics manifesto focusing on infrastructure development, economic growth and just ensuring that the daily living material conditions of the people are actually responded to in real time with an emphasis on intergovernmental relations, especially given our experience in the GNU and GPU,” he said.