MEC for Transport Siboniso Duma (wearing a black jacket) during his recent visit to the family of Duduzile Majola, 54, who also died when a minibus taxi overturned in Nkandla recently. Picture: Transport Department
THE fragile unity of the Government of National Unity (GPU) in KwaZulu-Natal has been subjected to yet another significant test.
This comes after the relationship among GPU members, the ANC and the IFP, took further strain as controversy erupted over the funerals of eight Nkandla residents who lost their lives in a minibus-crash last week.
The MEC for Transport, Siboniso Duma, who also serves as chairperson of the ANC, through his spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, publicly accused Nonhlanhla Nzuza, the IFP’s acting mayor of Nkandla, with influencing the bereaved families to snub the government-sponsored funerals and conducting their separate burials.
Reacting to this, Nzuza came out guns blazing, telling the Daily News yesterday that she did not influence any families to conduct individual funerals.
“I did not go door to door telling families that they must conduct separate burials. That is the responsibility of indunas, not mine. These allegations are not true,” she said.
Nzuza said five families opted to continue with the government-sponsored funeral while the other three held their own burials.
Sibiya claimed on Sunday that Nzuza persuaded the grieving families to reject the scheduled government-sponsored mass funeral, and opt for individual burials instead.
As a result, Duma announced his abrupt withdrawal from the funeral service, further questioning the stability of the GPU in the province.
Sibiya said: “The acting mayor of Nkandla (Nzuza) told the grieving to reject a mass funeral but hold their own funerals separately. The community was also instructed not to attend the mass funeral.”
Despite the unfolding drama, Sibiya emphasised that Duma respected the families' wishes to handle their funerals privately. “Duma, who also holds the portfolio of MEC for Human Settlements, did not regret supporting the grieving families," Sibiya said.
"The department supported the families in burying their loved ones with dignity. However, we fully respect their decisions as a department,” said Sibiya.
One family member who spoke to the Daily News expressed dismay at the situation, which reflected the deep-seated tensions within the coalition that governs the province.
“We are not part of politics. We don’t want to be used for any political gains by either the ANC or the IFP. However, we would like to thank the government for the support they offered to us,” said a family member who did not want his name published.
Dudu Majola, 54, Ntombifuthi Majola, 51, Nokubonga Majola, Colile Khanyile, 51, Busisiwe Khanyile, 49, Slindile Khanyile, 34, Nomfundo Khanyile, 30, and Mbali Biyela, 30, all died when the minibus taxi they travelled in overturned in Mandaba, Nkandla, north of KZN.
In spite of the tug-of-war over their funerals, Duma has been praised in some quarters for retreating instead of forging ahead with the mass funeral plans, which was against the wishes of the families.
The ANC and IFP, historical rivals, formed the GPU after the May elections failed to yield a clear winner in KZN, forcing these former adversaries into an uneasy partnership. Other additional partners of the alliance group were the DA and NFP.
As tensions rise over the handling of this bereavement, questions about the stability the GPU continues to gather momentum.
Previous instances of conflict among the partners have plagued the coalition, threatening to unravel months of political progress.
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