JOINT STATEMENT BY MKHULEKO HLENGWA: IFPYB NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON AND
NTUTHUKO MAJOZI: SADESMO PRESIDENT ON THE COALITION BETWEEN THE ANC AND THE NFP DURBAN: MAY 31, 2011
Yesterday was indeed a dark day for democracy in KwaZulu Natal. Over the past few weeks, as we campaigned for the IFP during the local government election campaign, we repeatedly warned that a vote for the NFP is a vote for the ANC.
Our detractors dismissed these statements as nonsense. As a mere fabrication of the IFP's imagination. Yesterday, our concerns were confirmed. The ANC / NFP coalition proves that the NFP is an ANC project, and that by joining forces with the ANC, in a coalition, it is clear the NFP was merely coming home.
The tensions stirred up by the "Friends of VZ", and then the formation of the NFP brought bloodshed and political treachery back to KwaZulu Natal. Hostility has mounted, for people know well that the ANC has funded this rupture within the IFP. Lives were lost in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng due to this spilt. These facts cannot be ignored.
What then must we make of the ANC's ongoing mission to see the IFP wiped off the political map, under President Zuma's leadership? It is dishonest to talk about a vibrant multi-party democracy, when the ruling Party is so intent on creating a one party state.
It points to one worrying factor. The ANC is an undemocratic organisation. The ANC does not tolerate opposition. It will stop at nothing to get rid of those that stand in their way. The ANC's cloak-and-danger tactics have been exposed: unable to wrestle control from the IFP democratically, through the ballot box, they have now succeeded in doing so through its clone, the NFP. The aim was to split the IFP vote, so that the ANC could finally wrestle control of the IFP-controlled municipalities.
Now, thousands and thousands of voters who called for IFP-led municipalities will now have local governments who do not have their best interests at heart. This alone signals that our democracy is at peril. This coalition agreement between the ANC and the NFP will only serve one purpose: it will further decimate the political opposition in KZN since it is now only a matter of time before the NFP formally collapses into the ANC.
We propose today the formation of a grassroots movement, led by the youth of KwaZulu Natal to save democracy in KwaZulu Natal. In those 19 hung municipalities where IFP members will now have an ANC / NFP government undemocratically forced on them, we are calling on communities to stand up and have their voices counted. Stand up and be the vanguards of democracy. Monitor service delivery in your area.
Monitor the ANC and NFP performance. Watch out for nepotism and corruption, which is sure to follow wherever the ANC governs. Report any instances of abuse of power to your IFP representative or to your local authorities. To be a sound and effective opposition, be vigilant and responsible.
The IFP is a party of integrity. We have never used deceit and treachery to blindside the voting public. There is a serious threat of South Africa becoming a one party state if we allow opposition parties to be systematically destroyed through propaganda, dirty tricks and cloak-and-dagger tactics.
In generations past, South Africans struggled for liberation. We fear that the struggle of our generation will be to preserve a democratic order that is more fragile than we think.
As the youth of the IFP we want to signal a clear warning to the ANC and the NFP today. We will not take their cloak-and-dagger tactics lying down. We do not look kindly to their anti-democratic style of governance. The IFP has no intention of bowing out. Instead their coalition will inspire us, the youth of this party to greater heights.
It will inspire us to work harder. Come 2014, in the interest of democracy, in the interest of the people of KwaZulu Natal the IFP will be back with a stronger showing and we will dislodge this ANC / NFP coalition forever, and banish it to where it belong, the annals of history.
We are aware that there is widespread dissatisfaction within NFP structures about the ANC/NFP coalition. Moreover NASMO, the NFP aligned students' organisation is beyond unhappy about this descion and as such has witnessed a mass exodus of its members returning back to SADESMO. We open our doors and arms to those NFP and NASMO members who are returning home to the IFP and SADESMO, as they were fooled, duped and manipulated by the power hungry VZ kaMagwaza Msibi and her few cohorts into indirectly joining the ANC.
In closing, we will repeat the sentiments of the IFP President Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. We will not abandon KwaZulu Natal and South Africa in this hour of betrayal. We will remain the champion of principled leadership for the sake of this province, this country and its future. As long as there is hope, the IFP, the IFPYB and Sadesmo remain; and for as long as the IFP remains, there is still hope.
We thank you.
Issued by the IFP, May 31 2011
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