The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) will gain control of at least five municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal after reaching an agreement with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Both IFP national chairperson Blessed Gwala and DA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango, speaking at a press conference, said the deal struck was one where the DA would support the IFP in gaining control of those municipalities.

Gwala said that the EFF was also supporting the IFP, but there was no EFF spokesperson at the press conference in Durban.

The DA’s councillors in the hung municipalities would not be taking up any positions and Mncwango said that even in eDumbe Local Municipality where the DA has more seats than the IFP, the deal will see the IFP run the municipality should the two parties gain control of it.

The deal will see the IFP take control of Jozini, Mtubatuba, Abaqulusi (Vryheid), Ndumeni and Nqutu. In eDumbe, the agreement will see the two parties tie with the ANC, which means that it could come down to the toss of a coin as to whether the ANC has control or if the IFP and the DA have control.

Mncwango said that the agreement did not amount to a formal coalition and that both parties would maintain their separate identities.

“We are not in bed with the IFP. When we can’t reach consensus, we will vote against them,” he said. He added that the agreement only held for those municipalities where the IFP needed the DA’s support to govern.

Gwala said the deal could also see the IFP taking control of three district municipalities – Zululand District Municipality, Umzinyathi District Municipality and Umkhanyakude District Municipality.

The IFP was unable to forge a coalition in the newly formed Estcourt/Loskop Municipality after the Al Jama Party decided to align itself with the ANC.

Both Gwala and Mncwango said that they had been approached by the ANC, but the decision had been taken not to work with the ANC.