Date: 03/05/2010
Source: Inkatha Freedom Party
Title: ID: Buthelezi: Address the leader of the IFP at the Abaqulusi local municipality budget and IDP roadshow, Vryheid

Members of the Zulu Royal Family, Amakhosi, His Worship the Mayor
Councillor Dlamini, His Worship the Deputy Mayor Councillor Jones and
the Deputy Mayoress Mrs Jones, the Municipal Manager Mr Bonga Ntanzi
and Mrs Ntanzi, our Members of Parliament, and our members of the
Legislature, Indunas, Councillors, members of the Municipal Civil
Service, Members of the South African Police Force and members of all
government departments, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am honoured to participate in the presentation of the budget for the
Abaqulusi Local Municipality to the people this municipality serves.
In terms of the Constitution of South Africa, one of the objectives of
local government is to encourage the involvement of communities and
community organizations in matters of local government. Today
Abaqulusi Municipality is fulfilling that objective by being
accountable to the people it serves and by making government accessible.

At this third tier level of Government, ordinary South Africans have
the benefit of knowing the people whom they have elected to serve them
and of being able to talk to them on a one-to-one basis. Your leaders
are here. They want to hear what you have to say. They want to know
how best to serve you. And today, they want to give an account for all
that has been done and all that is planned for the future with the
budget for 2010.

Let me say upfront that I am proud of the work this municipality is
doing. Abaqulusi is one of the few municipalities that has received an
unqualified audit report from the Auditor General. That means that it
is functioning as a good steward of the money and resources allocated
from the provincial budget. It has been given a clean bill of health
as far as corruption is concerned, and there is no suggestion that
money is being squandered or frittered away. For this, I congratulate
the Mayor and his team in Abaqulusi. And I congratulate both the
previous Municipal Manager Advocate Mathenjwa and the present
Municipal Manager Mr Ntanzi and their team of civil servants who had
financial responsibility.

Nevertheless, I have no doubt that the people this municipality serves
have many questions about service delivery and many concerns about how
money is being spent. This municipality, like government departments
everywhere, is cash strapped. There is only so much that it can
achieve. I know that people's expectations are very high when it comes
to what your municipality should do for you. In the old democracies
in the west, municipalities do not depend on government grants only.
They have a tax base and collect rates from the people they serve.
Most unfortunately, the majority of the people who live in our
municipal areas are poor people. And the budgets that are given to
municipalities are limited when looked at against the number of people
such budgets must serve.

In other parts of South Africa, people's dissatisfaction with the way
the ANC runs municipalities has grown so strong that protests and
social disruption are the order of the day. I am grateful that we do
not see that kind of upheaval here, but I am not tempted to believe
that everyone is satisfied with the level of service delivery. I know
that even here service delivery is slower than we hoped and does not
cover as much as we wished for various reasons. But often we tend to
forget that the budgets that are available in our municipalities are
limited. So failure to address all the needs of the community are not
always a result of just sheer inefficiency on the part of the
Municipal Council to render service delivery.

In terms of our Constitution every South African has the right to
decent housing, healthcare, education, sanitation and water. But when
the full budget of this Municipality is considered, one has to face
the fact that ? no matter how you slice it ? the pie is just not big
enough to satisfy everyone's hunger. It is therefore vital that we use
what we have wisely and effectively, maximizing the value of every cent.

I know that, just like every Government Department both provincially
and nationally, the budgets of local municipalities are substantially
used to run the municipalities. Little remains for the development
projects that are needed to address poverty. This creates ill feeling
within the community and a sense that local government is not doing
all that it could or should. Next year, the electorate will be going
to the polling stations to vote in the 2011 Local Government
Elections. That is the moment when the voice of the people will speak
loudly about these issues.

Knowing the enormous need that exists in this area and knowing that
the Municipality is working hard, I am distressed by the antics of a
few Councilors who seem to care more for padding their own pockets
than they do for alleviating poverty. It should concern us when any
leader puts their own interests first, because selfish ambition is
destructive to the collective good. I have warned before that the fish
rots from the head. When leaders take a little more than they give,
they give the example that some are more deserving than others and
that a bit of power bestows upon one the right to come first, get more
and do less.

That is totally contrary to the culture of service that should pervade
government. It is disheartening that this Municipality has become a
hotbed of activity of the so-called "Friends of VZ" who are intent on
destroying the IFP's legacy. They want to see the IFP weakened to such
an extent that they will be able to snatch away the leadership. And
they are weakening the Party by undermining everything that is good
about the IFP.

This Party has always been based on discipline and respect. But now
discipline is disintegrating because of the activities of the "Friends
of VZ". This is having a negative impact on service delivery in
Abaqulusi, and that is where it becomes completely unacceptable. The
IFP has internal party structures to deal with insubordination. We
have a Party Constitution which guides our actions. We have a
leadership of integrity and a strong moral conscience. And we have no
patience with people who willingly compromise the good of the people
for the sake of their own name and status.

It is a fact that some of the Councillors in this Municipality have
paid some of the expenses for so called prayer meetings held by "the
friends of VZ" from tax payers money. That is nothing short of
corruption. There are people who are prepared to confirm this on oath
and some have actually made affidavits to that effect. I was
distressed to be told that one radio programme suggested that during
my visit here on Tuesday I accused the municipality of corruption.
Ever since efforts were made by the ruling Party to take over this
municipality, it has always had a clean unqualified audit. Taxpayers'
money should never be used to further the political agenda of
individuals. I regret that some of our Councillors have been tainted
by this corruption. Such people prove that some of our Councillors
care more about their own political eminence than about serving the
interests of the communities that they are supposed to serve.

This is not the IFP way. This is the first time that taxpayers' money
has been used by people entrusted with service delivery to promote
selfish political agendas. The worst of it is that our people are
living in gut-wrenching poverty, so that wasting money is tantamount
to starving our people. Clearly the IFP is not immune to corruption,
but it is new to us and is not something we should allow to take root.
We see the disease of corruption at every level in the public service,
to the extent that even the country's President bemoaned its
prevalence during last week's Freedom Day celebrations.

Corruption has found its way into our Party through the hairline
fracture of division that has been opened by the "Friends of VZ". Each
and every political party in South Africa has internal divisions. We
saw that clearly with the breakaway from the ANC of COPE. And we see
it in opposition parties as well, which is bad news for democracy,
because democracy relies on the ruling party having a vibrant and
effective opposition.

Rifts within the IFP are damaging to service delivery and damaging to
democracy. The IFP is at the helm of this Municipality and we are
seeing how the carefully manipulated succession debate is affecting
service delivery here. People who have received tenders and jobs from
our District Municipality have been involved in corrupting our members
with money. Greed and selfish ambition have distracted some
Councilors. It is time they turned their focus back to the needs of
the people. Let us not forget the challenges our people face.

Just over a third of the people living in this area are infected with
HIV/Aids and the number is still climbing. Already this has a
substantial effect on the quality of life of the people this
municipality serves, whether they are struggling with ill health, or
caring for a sick family member or supporting children who have lost
parents to this disease. The presence of HIV/Aids places an added
burden on municipalities by increasing the need for social services
and healthcare.

The available workforce is also diminished, which decreases
productivity in an area where unemployment is already high. This not
only affects industries, but individual households, particularly where
subsistence farming is the source of food security. If the person who
usually works the land becomes too weak or ill to work, who will put
food on the table? We know that there are many child-headed households
in Zululand, just as there are across South Africa. We know that there
are people struggling to survive and struggling for a better quality
of life.

As we face these challenges, it is difficult to see the country's
leadership less than fully committed to fight the scourge of HIV/Aids.
Recently, the President of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, publically
announced that he is HIV negative. We are pleased for his health.
Nevertheless, it is a pity that everybody knows the President had
unprotected intercourse with a young lady who was HIV positive.
Considering that misconceptions, superstitions and widespread
ignorance around HIV/Aids still abound, we cannot afford for people to
think that they can get away with risky behaviour. The negative
status of our President, which we are all happy about, might give the
wrong signals that one can have unprotected sex with an HIV positive
woman, and not be infected.

There is always a risk involved when it comes to HIV. Forgoing a
condom is not worth it. Having multiple partners is not worth it.
Exposing others by not knowing or disclosing your own status is not
worth it. The risk involved in HIV/Aids is more than your health.
There is a risk that you will not be able to work and support
yourself. There is a risk that your life will be shortened. There is a
risk that others will need to look after you. And there is always the
risk that there will just not be enough resources for government to
help.

A substantial number of people living here have no income and many
more live below the breadline. Poverty is a serious problem in
Abaqulusi. But still, the struggle we face here is repeated in
communities across South Africa. Indeed, the fact that people are
poor, or have little access to education, or need better housing, or
lack resources for development, is not newsworthy, because the plight
of people in Abaqulusi is the plight of people throughout our country.
This area is not often in the headlines.

It is shortsighted to think that the perspectives moulded throughout
the long history of South Africa can be transformed in just a few
years. I think of the history even of this area, and how it is filled
with memories both of patriotism and division. The Abaqulusi area was
ruled by my great great great maternal Aunt, Princess Mkabayi ka Jama.
This is an area of great warriors of our Kingdom. The Princess herself
played a very important role in the affairs of the Zulu Royal House.

I stated in my address here last Tuesday that whenever I visit the
Abaqulusi Municipality I cannot help being reminded of the great
valour of the past heroes of this region. I mentioned some of them.

I think that history should be an inspiration to all of us to keep up
our pride on the valour of our forebears. I still believe that in
spite of the negative things I have mentioned in this address, the
Abaqulusi Municipality can still be a role model of other
municipalities. The history I shared with you during the Freedom Day
celebrations should be an inspiration to the leaders and the people of
this municipality. It is very important that we should resist with
all the means at our disposal the widening of rifts amongst us;
created by mischief-makers such as "the friends of VZ". Ever since
this phenomenon began, Councillors in most of the Zululand District
Municipalities are split from top to bottom. We have such awful
challenges to face as a Nation that we cannot afford to be divided.
This applies to divisions along Party lines and divisions within one
Party such as we see just now in the Party that is at the helm in this
municipality.

Our people's needs are so vast such as poverty, crime, HIV/Aids,
ignorance, etc that we will not be able to defeat anyone of them if we
allow even political divisions along Party lines to keep us apart.
There cannot be differences that can prevent us from working together
to tackle these giants merely because we want to emphasize our Party
differences even when it is not necessary. I am not saying that we
should sub-merge our political identities. No. But I am certain that
there are issues where we can all sing from the same hymn sheet even
if we belong to different parties. The word cleavage is the one which
has been engineered by "the friends of VZ" within a Party that at
present has the responsibility of leading this municipality. A lot of
energy and time has been dissipated in the fruitless activities that
the representatives of the people in this Council have been indulging
in ever since we were struck by "the friends of VZ" bug within the IFP.

I am not sure if the majority of voters will be impressed to cast
their votes for people who can indulge in the kind of silly activities
we have seen such as bogus prayer meetings that have been organized.
I do not think that they can forgive those who are guilty of using
their taxpayers' money to finance these puerile games that are being
played by the so-called "friends of VZ."

During the liberation struggle the ruling Party introduced the idea of
making the country "ungovernable" and making the townships
"ungovernable." I took the opposite view that it was wrong to use that
strategy of ungovernability and argued that if we made the country and
townships "ungovernable" they would continue to be ungovernable even
after we had taken over the ruling of the country. I think that in
this Province I can say that the fact that we are not experiencing so
much of the chaos which includes burning of facilities and tyres is
partly because of the stand I took against that strategy during the
liberation struggle. Therefore, coteries which are indulging in the
activities such as those of "the friends of VZ" where Councillors no
longer care about service delivery but are only thinking of their own
positions, may find that they will trigger off the same kind of
activities even in this Province.

We are only a few months from the high noon where the voters will give
their verdict on whether such political frolicking has advanced their
cause in any way.

I wish to end once again congratulating Abaqulusi Municipality for
such a good record of service delivery. And I hope that this
municipality will keep up this record. And I have no doubt that with
the quality of accounting officers that this municipality is blessed
with; there is no reason why it should not be so.

There is a rich history in Abaqulusi and there is every reason for us
to continue to pursue national unity here. It is only when we agree to
work together as one people, equally deserving and equally
responsible, that we will be able to create a better quality of life.
As I have said, there is only so much that any government structure
can do. This Municipality is doing a good job, which can be judged by
its audit reports. But no matter how hard your Councillors work, all
the needs will remain unmet unless we all get onboard and make our own
contribution.

Abaqulusi needs the contribution of community members to make things
work. I encourage you today to stop asking why your municipality
hasn't done this or delivered that. Instead, start asking what you can
do to make it work better. Everyone has a part to play in the future
success of this place. Women have a special role, as you are the
centre of the home and have great influence within your own spheres. I
urge you to teach your families not to wait for hand outs that will
never come. The IFP believes in self-help and self-reliance. We
believe in partnerships between government and communities. The
government's job should be to help people to help themselves.

We believe in governing from the ground up, because we know it is
essential that the people we serve have a direct say in how things are
done. I am therefore pleased to participate in this budget roadshow
which expresses the IFP's values of governing in partnership and
staying accountable. I therefore thank you, all of you, for coming
here today.