EFF KwaZulu-Natal MPL Mongezi Twala has added his voice in supporting King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini's proposal for the renaming of the province.
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King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini’s proposal for the renaming of KwaZulu-Natal to KwaZulu has received more traction from political parties represented in the provincial legislature, with the EFF saying the country should also be renamed Azania.
The renaming of the province took centre stage when the parties were debating Premier Thami Ntuli’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Tuesday.
Prior to Ntuli delivering SOPA on Friday, the king had, during the opening of the legislature on Thursday, repeated the call he made during the commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in Ntuthu, northern KwaZulu-Natal, in January, that the province’s name should be KwaZulu.
During the debate, EFF MPL Mongezi Twala said it had always been on his party’s agenda that Natal should be done away with.
“The EFF welcomes the call by King Misuzulu to rename the province of KwaZulu-Natal to KwaZulu to restore the historical identity of this province by doing away with Natal, which represents a colonial position,” he said.
Twala said that the name Natal and colonial statues that are still on public display in the province remind South Africans of the oppression they have suffered.
“The EFF has always advocated for the removal of all statues, apartheid symbols, and names that perpetuated white superiority.
“Hence, we hold a firm position that we should rename South Africa to Azania.
“We also call for the recognition of Inkosi of the Hlubi nation, whose chieftaincy was taken away in 1873 after he refused to submit himself and his people to colonialism,” said Twala.
Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party reminded the MPLs that most of them did not know where the name Natal came from.
“Why are we quiet when we are called with something that we don’t have the knowledge of?
“We should once put politics aside and be proud of our historical background, as the king has spoken,” said Chiliza.
He said the king had also raised concerns about mines that were spiralling all over the province.
“We should know what the consequences of these mines are to communities in which they exist and the environment.
“We wish that this issue should be addressed because it is being ignored.”
Chiliza also called for the government to intervene in saving Tongaat Hulett from shutting down, which he said would subject sugarcane farmers to poverty.
He said the Ingonyama Trust Board should be an entity of the provincial government, instead of falling under the national Department of Land Reform and Rural Development.
“Ingonyama cannot be governed by the national government while it is in charge of the land in KwaZulu. This affects the king and traditional leaders in the province.
“The Ingonyama Trust Act, Land Restitution Act, and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, which deal with poor rural communities, need to be re-examined to see if they assist us because poor people are still oppressed in this province,” said Chiliza.
Although the EFF and MKP, who are opposed to the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), welcomed the positive tone on the SOPA, they accused Ntuli of lacking the budget to make his promises a reality.
This led to IFP MPL Mtomuhle Khawula, Sport, Arts and Culture MEC, accusing them of being hellbent on opposing whatever good Ntuli is coming up with.
He said Ntuli was leading a government that prioritised unity over chaos.
According to him, this government has built several libraries across the province and also came up with vaccines for the Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
“On Friday, 13 February 2026, the MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture officially handed over to the eThekwini Municipality the Sankontshe Library to the people of Mariannhill, and on 28 February, he handed over a state-of-the-art community library to the people of Ndaleni in Richmond,” he said.
He also counted other libraries that have been completed in the northern, southern KwaZulu-Natal, and the midland, which he said were all fitted with Wi-Fi.
“Sport development and sport activities are all on the rise in this province. King Smith Cricket Stadium in Durban will be one of the venues of choice for the Cricket World Cup in 2027 to be hosted jointly by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
“Actually, on December 16, 2025, at the commemoration of the Battle of Blood River in Ncome, his excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa commended KwaZulu-Natal for being a province that excels in hosting a National Reconciliation Day.
“During the commemoration of King Shaka Day in KwaDukuza, his Majesty King Misuzulu passed a vote of confidence to the GPU as one of the most progressive governments, which he has ever worked with,” said Khawula.
bongani.hans@inl.co.za