As part of the plan to revitalise the Economic Freedom Fighters in KwaZulu-Natal ahead of next year’s local government elections, the newly appointed provincial secretary said they are working on strategies to revive the party’s prospects.

Vukani Ndlovu, who is currently a councillor in the eThekwini Municipality, has been entrusted with the mammoth task of turning around the party’s fortunes in the province ahead of next year’s crucial elections. He was appointed last month in the place of Nkululeko Ngubane, whose tenure as a secretary has seen the party performing poorly in by-elections – an important barometer used by parties to gauge their potential performance in future elections. The party also removed provincial treasurer, Waken Chuma.

In an exclusive interview, Ndlovu said he will be issuing invitations soon to his Provincial Executive Committee to converge and discuss plans for the elections.

He said since taking over as secretary, he has managed to identify the challenges that contributed  to the party’s poor performance in last year’s national and general elections and he wants to discuss this with the provincial leadership.

“In my analysis, I think I have already found what led to the poor performance but I will first share that with my provincial team and discuss how to correct the wrongs of the past as well as craft new strategies. I want the EFF to win a couple of wards in next year’s elections so we do not want to rely only on PR councillors. We must control wards to champion service delivery for our communities,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu, a former ANC youth leader in the province, is making a comeback after he was elected  provincial chairperson in 2015. He was a member of the provincial legislature until 2019, however, in 2018 he lost his chairperson position to Vusi Khoza. He did not return to the legislature until last year when the party appointed him as a PR councillor in eThekwini.

Ngubane and Chuma were elected in 2022 alongside party chairperson Mongezi Thwala and other senior leaders. When the national leadership announced their removal, it made it clear that the changes were aimed at strengthening the revolutionary engine of the organisation in the province and laying a firm foundation for the battles ahead, describing the province as one most politically complex in the country.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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