*Media:* none supplied
*Editor instructions:* none (no bracketed lines; no follow-ups after article)
—
Zuma appoints national team to lead MK Party coalition talks
By Ngwako Malatji
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party president Jacob Zuma has appointed a seven-member National Negotiations Team to lead and coordinate the party’s coalition negotiations following the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The team will be responsible for engaging prospective coalition partners, assessing political and programme alignment, negotiating coalition agreements and making recommendations on governance arrangements and the distribution of executive responsibilities.
In a statement presented by MK Party senior member and advocate Dali Mpofu on behalf of Zuma at the IEC’s Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Durban on Saturday, 7 November, Zuma said the party was establishing a centralised national framework to guide all coalition negotiations, warning that such arrangements should not be driven by the pursuit of political positions or short-term political interests.
“The party recognises that coalition arrangements are an important instrument for advancing the people’s mandate and transforming local government.
Such arrangements must be guided by the party’s political programme and strategic interests,”he said.
The seven-member team comprises first deputy president Duduzane Zuma, second deputy president Tony Yengeni, national chairperson Apostle Nkosinathi Pakathi, acting secretary-general Lindiwe Mtshali, KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson Willies Mchunu, Mpofu and senior party member Dr Thanti Mthanti.
In the statement, Zuma said the team will also assess council arithmetic, governance capacity, financial sustainability and the integrity of prospective coalition partners.
He said party coalition agreements must be supported by written commitments, with measurable targets and clear accountability mechanisms. It further directed that all coalition agreements must be concluded within the first 100 days after the establishment of the respective councils.
However, he said, the final authority to approve or reject any coalition arrangement will remain with the party presidency.
“No coalition agreement may be concluded or signed on behalf of the party without the explicit approval of the presidency,” he said.
Zuma further warned that the party’s provincial, regional and local structures against conducting independent coalition negotiations.
All structures and public representatives have been instructed to operate within the national framework and under the guidance of the National Negotiations Team.
Provincial and regional structures may participate in engagements when authorised by the national team, but are prohibited from making independent commitments or entering into agreements with other political parties.
Zuma warned that unauthorised negotiations or commitments would constitute a breach of its directives and could be referred to its disciplinary structures.
Zuma said the framework was intended to ensure that the party’s participation in coalition governments advanced the interests of ordinary South Africans rather than the personal interests of individuals. He congratulated South Africans who voted for the MK Party in the November 4 elections, saying the party was grateful for every vote it received.
Zuma described the party’s achievement of securing a 10% share of the vote as a historic milestone for a political party contesting local government elections for the first time.
He also congratulated other political formations that supported what the party described as total freedom, the return of stolen land and opposition to the DA-ANC alliance governing under the Government of National Unity.
“The message from our people is loud and clear. The people are never wrong,” he said.
Zuma further thanked the party’s ground forces and volunteers who campaigned without expecting personal rewards.
He called on the party’s newly elected councillors to focus on service delivery, saying the party’s road towards what it describes as total freedom in 2029 had begun.
“To all MK Party councillors, we say the time for service delivery is now. The road towards total freedom in 2029 begins today. Victory is certain,” he said.