Date: 04/12/2011

Source: The Inkatha Freedom Party

Title: IFP: Buthelezi: Address by the president, at a rally in Hlabisa

When I visited Hlabisa in April this year, I came with the message
that the power to decide the future of Hlabisa was about to be placed
squarely where it belongs; in your hands. That is democracy at work,
and that is power of the vote. We were approaching the 2011 Local
Government Elections and the decision over who would lead the
municipality in Hlabisa would be decided at the polls, based on your
votes and your voice. When the time came, the majority of the
residents of Hlabisa chose the IFP.

I have come here to thank you in person. The IFP appreciates your vote
of confidence and we take seriously the mandate you have given us to
serve you. When you voted IFP on the 18th of May, you were in good
company. Across South Africa more than a million votes of support were
cast for the IFP in the Local Government Elections, whether they were
for an IFP councilor, an IFP-run municipality or an IFP-led district.
Voters were given two or three ballot papers on which to make their
choice, and some 1.3 million times the people chose the IFP.

The results of the Local Government Elections restored the IFP to its
position as the third largest political party in South Africa.
Nevertheless, these elections saw a shift in the political landscape
that did not bode well. The newly formed NFP managed to split the vote
in KwaZulu Natal, as we predicted they would. It left this province
with 19 hung municipalities; municipalities that could not operate
because no one had won an outright majority.

In Hlabisa, the majority of the votes were for the IFP. We won 6 of
the 8 wards, while the ANC and NFP each took one. Yet we were
disadvantaged by the system of proportional representation, and ended
up with 8 councilors, while the ANC and NFP have 4 councilors each.
Thus, when the NFP formed an alliance with the ANC to gain control of
the 19 hung municipalities, it caused the balance of power in Hlabisa
to slide away from what the electorate called for, towards a half and
half council; where half of your councilors are from the IFP, and half
are from the NFP-ANC coalition.

The coalition between the NFP and the ANC came about very soon after
the elections, and it did not surprise us. In theory, the NFP could
have chosen to enter a coalition with the IFP to co-govern the 19 hung
municipalities. But in reality, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi could not choose
the IFP over the ANC, for she owed the ANC a profound debt for its
part in establishing the NFP. We know that the NFP was birthed with
money from some ANC leaders, who sought to weaken the IFP in the hope
of finally destroying us. The money and propaganda they employed to
assist the so-called "Friends of VZ" first, and then the NFP, meant
that when it came to choosing a coalition partner, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi
was obliged to choose the ANC.

She therefore created, through the media, an insurmountable obstacle
to an IFP-NFP coalition, stating that she would only consider it if I
first apologised for saying that the NFP was a creation of some ANC
leaders. How could I retract a truth I had spoken even in the National
Assembly, before the nation and in the presence of the President of
the country? Obviously I could not deny saying it. It was on the
official record. What she wanted, was for me to deny the truth of the
statement. I cannot deny the truth. She knows that. And it gave her an
easy out to run to the ANC. Even if I had done what she had asked me
to do, there was already a watertight agreement between the ANC and
the NFP to work together and form these coalitions.

But people are not fools. Many people recognized the shadow of
treachery when Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi handed municipalities to the ANC
through the NFP-ANC coalition. The people did not ask for an ANC-NFP
coalition, but that is what they got. In the 19 hung municipalities,
the voters did not ask for an ANC leadership, but that is what they
got. If you had wanted the ANC to govern in Hlabisa, you would have
voted for the ANC. If you had wanted the NFP, you would have voted for
the NFP. Democracy has been perverted in many municipalities, for the
voters did not get what they asked for.

It is not only the voters who felt betrayed by the NFP-ANC coalition.
Councilors within the NFP recognized that they would have to bow to
the orders of Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi. A big show was made of the NFP
leadership having consulted its membership about the coalition, but in
the end an ANC coalition was forced on NFP members whether they wanted
it or not. Some Councilors expressed their discontent by voting
against the coalition when it came to electing office bearer positions
in municipalities like Umlalazi and Umtshezi and Mtubatuba. Instead,
they voted for an IFP leadership.

Of course, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi quickly called them into line, for she
could not risk annoying her ANC bedfellows. But the rumblings of
discontent within the NFP have continued, as we saw in Mtubatuba
recently. Following the NFP-ANC coalition, the two parties shared the
spoils, deciding who would lead which municipality. They acted as
though governance was their right in the 19 hung municipalities, even
though the people had not asked them to govern. The ANC took
Umkhanyakude and Mtubutuba, and ? in exchange ? they let the NFP have
all the positions in Hlabisa. That is why Hlabisa has an NFP Deputy
Mayor and an NFP Speaker, even though you voted for the IFP.

But in Mtubatuba, the NFP councilors were not impressed that their
leader had given the municipality to the ANC, and they voted with the
IFP. They were raked over the coals for disregarding the coalition and
given instructions to go back and reverse the situation. On Monday
last week, a council meeting was called, but did not commence. After
waiting 40 minutes for the meeting to start, IFP Councilors walked
out, because in terms of the rules of procedure a meeting is no longer
valid and should not proceed if it is delayed for longer than 40
minutes.

Nevertheless, after the IFP left, the ANC and NFP councilors went
ahead with the meeting and took the opportunity to elect a Mayor and
Speaker in the IFP's absence. Both these positions went to the ANC.
The ANC offered the Deputy Mayor position to the NFP, but the NFP
councilors declined. They did not want any office bearer positions,
because they did not agree with the ANC-NFP coalition. They had simply
been forced by their leadership to go and give Mtubatuba to the ANC.
Thus a Deputy Mayor was not elected.

The IFP's councilors will no doubt challenge the validity of Monday's
meeting, seeing as it was held outside of the rules of procedure. But
what happened in Mtubatuba has made the ANC more cautious of the
strength of its coalition. They fear it is not going to last. I
suspect Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi must have some concerns of her own about
the loyalty of her cadres, when their loyalty was bought in the first
place.

Even the former Mayor of Hlabisa, Mr Bobby Ntombela, was lured away
from the IFP to the ranks of the NFP. In so doing, he lost his
position as Mayor. One can imagine he is not pleased that the NFP
failed to deliver a better position for him. The ANC's caution over
their shaky NFP coalition in Mtubatuba has somehow generated a better
working relationship between the ANC and the IFP here in Hlabisa. On
critical issues, the ANC supports the IFP in Hlabisa.

In many municipalities across KwaZulu Natal, we have seen NFP members
more willing to work with the IFP than with the ANC. Here in Hlabisa,
we are seeing ANC members more willing to work with the IFP than with
the NFP. It is quite interesting that both parties recognize the IFP's
integrity. They can trust us more than they can trust each other. I
think Mayor V.F. Hlabisa has a very challenging responsibility ahead
of him to balance all the politics while keeping his focus on service
delivery. But that is a challenge the IFP has met for 36 years, and we
are still delivering.

Nevertheless, we are not lulled into a false sense of security by the
instability of the ANC-NFP coalition. The ANC is still full of tricks,
just as they always have been. We have learned that there is an ANC
proposal on the table to change the demarcation of municipal
boundaries to see Hlabisa municipality disbanded and this area
absorbed into different municipalities. Wards 1 to 4 would go to
Mtubatuba, which means giving them to the ANC, and wards 5 to 8 would
go to Big Five, which means giving them to the NFP.

That is a very underhanded trick, and the IFP will fight tooth and
nail for Hlabisa to retain its identity. We recognize the historical
importance of Hlabisa and will make submissions to counter this
bizarre proposal from the ANC. Bizarre it might be, but it is not
surprising. The ANC has always operated like this; where they lose
they want to get rid of it, and where they win they want to expand it.
This arrogance of the ANC and NFP must be stopped. It is the people
who must decide who serves them, not Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi. Clearly the
ANC cares less about democracy than it does about power, and its
coalition partner is happily following in its footsteps.

I have chosen to go into such detail about the politics of what is
happening in Hlabisa because I feel you ought to know how contested
the future really is. Hlabisa is one of only three municipalities the
IFP managed to retain in the Local Government Elections. That is not
because you experienced fewer challenges or less shenanigans by the
NFP. I know that here in Hlabisa the NFP was active in trying to lure
away IFP supporters, and the propaganda against the IFP was rife. But
while the former Mayor fell for their false charms, the residents of
Hlabisa rejected the NFP.

The results of the Local Government Elections left no question in
anyone's mind about who Hlabisa supports. The vote was not split or
undecided. I am sure that other municipalities will be looking to you
as an example, and asking how you managed to come out of the storm
with a strong IFP support still intact. Make no mistake, every effort
was employed by our opponents to weaken the IFP's support. But here in
Hlabisa, the strong partnership between the people and the IFP took
precedence over political power struggles, and it survived.

You have become torchbearers, and an example for others to emulate. I
want to thank you for sticking with the IFP, for working hard to
counter the lies and propaganda, and for keeping faith with what you
know to be true about our Party; that we are trustworthy, capable and
willing to serve. Thank you for voting for the partnership we already
had, and for asking us to continue serving you in Hlabisa. Thank you
for strengthening the hand of the IFP, so that we can work hard for you.

We have a great deal more hard work ahead of us. The IFP is a party
for people who want to serve. We are not for those who are seeking
positions as status symbols. I am convinced that the IFP fared poorly
in the 2009 general election and in the 2011 local government
elections because those at the helm are not servicing our branches and
our districts. National and provincial leaders are not going to
districts. Some people who have been placed in high positions are not
fulfilling the responsibilities of those positions, but feel they have
arrived and are owed something.

There is no place in the IFP for that kind of attitude. That is the
playground of the NFP and the ANC. If you want to be a fat cat, go and
be a fat cat somewhere else. The IFP is about hard work and serving
the people. In just a few weeks time we will be going to our Annual
General Conference to elect a new leadership for this Party. Yesterday
we attended the Provincial Conference. I pray that God would guide us
to choose leaders who are committed to serving, not to being served.

We have had to postpone Conference several times because of the
ructions caused by the so-called "Friends of VZ". Now that they have
left us, we have been able to pull the Party into shape and prepare
for a serene and honest election process. Interestingly, now that the
"Friends of VZ" fill the ranks of the NFP, the NFP has had to postpone
its Conference more than once. And to think, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi
dragged us to court trying to get us to hold Conference! I am afraid
she is getting a taste of her own medicine. A good example of her
being hoisted with her own petard.

I thank God that the IFP was vindicated by the courts. I thank God
that we survived the ructions caused by our long-standing opponents.
And I thank God that many of our people refused to abandon the IFP. We
have weathered a terrible storm. But for us, the storm is over. The
storm brewing between the ANC and the NFP over this forced coalition
is just getting started. And the storm within the ANC is gathering
pace. While everywhere we look political leaders are scrambling for
positions, the IFP has its shoulder to the wheel in serving the
mandate given to us by the electorate. But I do not want to pretend
that we do not have our own problems. The emergence of the NFP
through money and the cheque-book politics has left some in our ranks
who have been trying to use their financial resources. We have these
corrupt leaders even right here in the Umkhanyakude District. If
anyone doubted the old saying that money is the root of all evil,
there is no reason to doubt that we have had such a trying time
because of the people who have brought in the culture of bankrolling
others to give them political support. There are too many stories
that I need to repeat to you here today of bogus branches which were
created by "the friends of VZ" and there are others who have taken a
leaf out of the book of "the friends of VZ" and the ANC and are doing
the same in our Party. I ask you to be loyal to the Party and reveal
the names of those who are involved in such despicable activities. We
need to weed them out of our Party before our Party is infested with
such corrupt operatives. South Africa cannot go forward because at
all levels of public life we are infected by this virus of corruption.
People tend to think that indulging in such corrupt practices at
this lower level is not a very serious matter. Corruption is
corruption however big and however infinitesimal. People who indulge
in these practices cannot be able to take this country forward. Such
people cannot be trusted. There are some people who think doing this
on a small scale is not as serious as those who are doing this at the
levels of all the three levels of our government.

You chose us. You asked us to lead. We will give you the full measure
of our commitment, as we have always done, cognizant of the many plans
and plots to take Hlabisa away from the IFP. Here, in Hlabisa, we will
defend democracy. We will defend your voice and your right to choose.
We will engage you in governance and let you lead. For we know that
serving is not about power and status. It's about you. That was our
election slogan, and that is the message we are taking into the next
five years.

I ask you to join hands with the IFP and make Hlabisa a shining light
to other municipalities. Despite the challenges, despite the ructions,
despite the treachery, you have stood tall. I thank you, and I ask for
your continued support. Let us grow our partnership and strengthen the
hand of the IFP. Let's keep the future of Hlabisa in our hands.

I thank you.