Inkatha Freedom Party

• WaterEnsure access to water, cut losses and fix leaks and burst pipes.
• Electricity and power cutsLook after council (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) power networks and repair streetlights.
• RubbishCollect rubbish regularly and improve waste disposal sites.
• Toilets and sewageLook after wastewater treatment systems that clean used water.
• RoadsRepair council roads, bridges and stormwater systems.

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• Building housesWork on housing backlogs and support redeveloping hostels.
• Informal settlementsSupport turning informal settlements into formal, planned areas.
• Title deedsNo 2026 promise found.

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• CrimeNo 2026 promise found.
• Metro policeNo 2026 promise found.
• Local jobsMake councils put local jobs first.
• Business and growthKeep funding and supporting small businesses.

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• CorruptionQuickly refer corruption, fraud and tender-rigging reports for investigation and action.
• Audit resultsNo 2026 promise found.
• Wasteful spendingLawfully recover money lost through misconduct, negligence or unlawful decisions.
• CoalitionsNo 2026 promise found.
• BudgetsPublish council budgets, tenders and spending reports.

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• A coalition (Coalition Parties that agree to run a council together, usually because none has more than half the seats alone. Together they choose the mayor.) runs uMhlathuze. It is made up of the IFP, DA, ACDP, NFP and VF Plus. The IFP's Xolani Ngwezi is mayor (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.). The parties (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) formed this IFP-led coalition in 2021. Deputy mayor Christo Botha of the DA died in May 2026. The Auditor-General's 2024-25 report lists uMhlathuze among 23 councils (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) with a clean audit for five or more years in a row. Its run is 6 years. A clean audit means the Auditor-General found no serious problems.
• In November 2024 the IFP's Sikhumbuzo Dlamini was elected mayor of King Cetshwayo District. He replaced Thamsanqa Ntuli of the IFP, who became Premier. In June 2026 The Witness described three councils in that district as governed by the IFP. They are Nkandla, uMlalazi and uMhlathuze. The Auditor-General's 2024-25 report lists King Cetshwayo District among 23 councils with a clean audit for five or more years in a row. Its run is 5 years.
• In Nongoma the IFP's Mbekezeli Zondo became mayor in July 2025, after a vote of no confidence (a council vote to remove a leader). The deputy mayor was from the EFF. A by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) seat) in March 2026 gave the IFP an outright majority, with 23 of 45 seats. The Auditor-General's 2024-25 report lists Nongoma among KwaZulu-Natal councils whose audit outcome got worse over the council term. That financial year ended in June 2025, before the IFP took over.
• The IFP runs AbaQulusi. After a by-election in March 2026, it holds 22 of 45 seats, which is one seat short of a majority. In June 2023 the IFP kept control with support from the DA and FF Plus. The Daily News then reported that Eric Mkhwanazi of the IFP was mayor. National Treasury's list of council contacts, updated October 2026, names SE Mkhwanazi as mayor. That list does not say which party a mayor belongs to. A community paper, Northern Natal News, named Mayor Sifiso Mkhwanazi in September 2025. The Auditor-General's 2024-25 report lists AbaQulusi among KwaZulu-Natal councils whose audit outcome improved over the council term.
• The IFP's Michael Khumalo was elected Zululand District mayor in June 2024, The Mercury reported. National Treasury's list of council contacts, updated October 2026, names Michael Bhekisipho Khumalo as mayor. That list does not say which party a mayor belongs to. We found no news report from 2025-2026.
• In Newcastle, Mayor Xolani Dube was an IFP councillor (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.), EWN reported in July 2024. National Treasury's list of council contacts, updated October 2026, names David Xolani Dube as mayor. That list does not say which party a mayor belongs to. The IFP became the largest party after by-elections. In July 2024 it had 23 of 67 seats. A community paper, Northern Natal News, referred to Mayor Xolani Dube in April 2025.
• In uMkhanyakude District the IFP removed ANC mayor Siphile Mdaka in October 2025. The IFP's Comfort Khumalo became mayor. Then the IFP and ANC made a new arrangement. Khumalo resigned, and Mdaka returned as mayor in November 2025.
• In March 2025 the IFP removed its own mayor of uMzinyathi District, Petros Ngubane. Deputy mayor Thembisile Mchunu took over. The same report says the IFP removed its AmaJuba District mayor in December 2024.
• The IFP leads Jozini. In May 2025 the IFP recalled mayor Mfananaye Mathe, which means it told him to step down. It also made changes to the executive committee, the group of councillors who help run the council.
• In uPhongolo an IFP mayor was still in office in June 2026. The council elected the ANC's Celiwe Nxumalo as speaker by 18 votes to 10. The speaker is the councillor who runs council meetings. She won with votes from IFP rebels, meaning IFP councillors who broke with their party. Reports said the IFP was preparing to expel six ward councillors (Ward councillor A person chosen by the voters of one ward to speak for that area on the council. You vote for them by name.).
• The IFP leads Endumeni, with Mcebo Mkhize as mayor. The council has 13 seats. The IFP has 5, the ANC 5, the DA 2 and the ABC 1. The council did not approve its 2026/27 budget by 30 June. It also missed the province's later deadline of 31 July 2026. The council was not closed down early. Instead, in September 2026 the province's local government department (KZN CoGTA) used Section 154 to send in a technical expert. We found no later report that the budget was approved.
• In 2021 the IFP won an outright majority (more than half the seats) in these councils, according to the IEC (IEC The Electoral Commission of South Africa. It runs elections. It is independent, so it does not take orders from the government or any party.) seat reports. They are Big Five Hlabisa, Jozini, Msinga, Nkandla, Nquthu, Ulundi, uMfolozi, uMlalazi and uPhongolo.

Parties (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) must declare some donations. This applies when one donor gives them more than R200 000 in total in a financial year. A financial year runs from April to March. The limit used to be R100 000. The President raised it in Proclamation Notice R. 275 of 2025. This was published in the Government Gazette on 18 August 2025. So the July to September 2025 report uses R100 000 for donations before that date. A smaller donation is declared once the donor's total for the year passes the limit. The IEC says the Political Funding Act covers each registered (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.) party, even one with no seats (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) in Parliament (Parliament South Africa's national law-makers, in Cape Town. It has two parts, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.) or a provincial legislature. So the IEC's reports cover each party listed here. Smaller gifts, membership fees and public money are not in these reports. So no rows means no donor passed the limit in these reports. It does not mean the party got no money. The IEC's yearly report shows each party's total of smaller gifts, without names. These are the donations the party told the IEC about, as the IEC published them. We do not compare parties. Checked 20 October 2026.

• “We urge Dirco to stand firm on the two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict, grounded in international law, and to unequivocally condemn all forms of violence against civilians.”

  In Parliament, 3 July 2025

  N M Hadebe, an IFP MP (MP (Member of Parliament) A person who sits in Parliament, which makes South Africa's laws. They are not chosen in this local election.), said this in a budget debate, where MPs discuss the foreign affairs department's money. The IFP says South Africa should not take sides between world powers, but must still speak up when people suffer. A two-state solution means Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side. The IFP wants DIRCO, the foreign affairs department, to keep backing this and to speak against attacks on ordinary people.

• “the IFP stands firm in its belief that a Two-State solution is essential to achieving peace and justice in the region”

  In Parliament, 15 November 2024

  M A Mncwango, an IFP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament (Parliament South Africa's national law-makers, in Cape Town. It has two parts, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.) on peoples' right to choose how they are governed. This right is called self-determination, and the IFP says every people should have it. For Israel and Palestine, the IFP wants two separate countries side by side. It says both peoples should rule themselves within safe borders. The speech does not name a step it wants the government to take.

• “We would like to say that we still support a two-state solution, and we feel that we should not play ourselves out of this game, as South Africa.”

  Vote in Parliament, 21 November 2023

  All 11 IFP MPs present voted against asking the government to close Israel's embassy (Embassy A country's main office in another country. It speaks for its own government there.) and cut ties. The motion passed, 248 votes to 91. The IFP said it still wants two states.

• “As the IFP, we have stated in this House, and today, we reiterate that we do not believe that cutting diplomatic ties with Israel is the best cause of action as relates to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.”

  In Parliament, 16 November 2023

  IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa said cutting ties with Israel would stop South Africa helping peace talks. He asked Israel to hold back and talk. He condemned violence against civilians on both sides.

• “is the President prepared to move away from the mystic terminology of calling this a conflict or a military operation and call it what it is”

  In Parliament, 17 March 2022

  IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa asked President Ramaphosa in Parliament to stop calling Russia's attack on Ukraine "a conflict or a military operation".

• “IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa and UDM Chief Whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, however, said South Africa had failed to act.”

  News report, 3 March 2022

  Daily Maverick reported that IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa said South Africa had failed to act on Russia's war in Ukraine.

• “we welcome the investment by China which has actually resulted in the creation of over 400 000 jobs.”

  In Parliament, 12 September 2025

  M A Mncwango, an IFP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament. MPs were discussing a report on a visit to China by a group of MPs. Investment means money from China put into businesses here. Mncwango says South Africa has so many people without work that investment from any country helps. His time ran out before he said what the IFP wants the government to do.

• “we extend our support for the self-determination of the people of Taiwan, Tibet, Western Sahara”

  In Parliament, 15 November 2024

  M A Mncwango, an IFP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament on minority groups abroad. Self-determination means a people's right to choose how they are governed. In the same debate, an ANC MP said South Africa counts Taiwan as part of China. Taiwan and Tibet are places China says belong to it. Western Sahara is a disputed territory in north-west Africa. The IFP says this right must apply to every people, not only some. The speech does not say what the IFP wants the government to do about these places.

• “The IFP supports engagements on a well-reasoned diplomatic approach, which is necessary to preserve our economic relationship.”

  In Parliament, 6 March 2025

  The Deputy Minister of Transport spoke for the IFP in this debate in Parliament. The United States had stopped its aid to South Africa, including money for HIV care. The IFP says the US is still a key trading partner for South Africa. So it wants the government to handle this through careful talks with the US, to protect trade. In the long run, it wants South Africa to need less help from other countries.

• “The IFP supports our government's position to call on UN Security Council, the body that mandated humanitarian international peace and security to urgently convene and address this situation.”

  In Parliament, 26 March 2026

  A K Ngobese, an IFP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament about Venezuela. Its president and his wife had been arrested after a US military operation there. The IFP wants the UN Security Council, the United Nations body for war and peace, to deal with it. It says every country's right to run itself must be respected, even when people doubt its leaders. But it warns that powerful countries can block the council with a veto.