The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is accusing the Zululand Municipality Mayor Michael "Mkhonyovu" Khumalo of distorting history by claiming that co-operatives and the poverty alleviation programme, One Home One Garden is an IFP's brainchild.
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The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal has accused the Inkatha Freedom Party of misleading the public over the origins of key pro-poor development programmes, escalating political tensions over who deserves credit for longstanding anti-poverty interventions in the province.
In a strongly worded statement issued by ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica, the party condemned Zululand District Municipality Mayor Michael "Mkhonyovu" Khumalo for what it described as “blatant misinformation” regarding cooperative development initiatives and the One Home One Garden programme.
The ANC’s response follows a widely circulated video in which Khumalo allegedly claimed that cooperatives and the One Home One Garden initiative were originally introduced by the IFP before later being adopted by the ANC.
The ANC dismissed the claims as historically false and politically motivated.
“The truth is clear,” Sonjica said, arguing that both programmes are rooted in ANC-led policy interventions designed to combat poverty, food insecurity and inequality across KwaZulu-Natal.
The party pointed to the period following the 2004 elections, when the provincial government under former premier Sibusiso Ndebele introduced structured support for cooperatives, guided by the Cooperatives Act of 2005. This, the ANC said, laid the groundwork for broader economic inclusion and was later strengthened by the Provincial Cooperative Development Strategy in 2010.
On the One Home One Garden initiative, the ANC said the programme evolved from health-based food security interventions introduced during the height of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS crisis. Under the Department of Health’s “One Clinic, One Garden” model, communities were encouraged to grow nutritious food to improve treatment outcomes for patients receiving medication.
According to the ANC, that programme later expanded into a household food security initiative, particularly from 2009 onward, and again gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as food insecurity deepened.
The party accused IFP leaders of attempting to rewrite history for political gain, warning that such claims undermine communities that have directly benefited from these programmes over the years.
At the same time, the ANC acknowledged that cooperative development in the province still faces significant hurdles, including limited market access and funding shortages, but said it remains committed to strengthening support structures to improve sustainability.
Sonjica called for honest political engagement, urging the IFP to abandon “distortion and deception” and instead focus on fact-based public discourse.
The latest clash exposes intensifying political competition in KwaZulu-Natal, where both the ANC and IFP continue to battle for influence in communities shaped by poverty, unemployment and deepening economic hardship.