It gives me tremendous pleasure to see the joy of this family as you receive a safe, well-built and welcoming home. I know that you have suffered and that you have dreamt of living in a decent house. That is a dream of many South Africans. It’s a basic need and a basic right. Yet for many it remains a dream.

I want to thank the Honourable Mr Hassan Motala for acting when they saw your need. It is testimony to the kind of leaders we have in the IFP that people like Mr Motala are willing to reach into their own pockets to assist. We are not a rich party and we don’t have the resources of the State at our disposal. But we have always believed in self-help and self-reliance. We believe that everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to empower those around them.

Families in KwaZulu Natal remember what Inkatha achieved when we administered government under the apartheid regime. KwaZulu received very little from the national budget, as punishment for not going along with the grand scheme of apartheid to split KwaZulu away from South Africa. But with very little, we accomplished a lot, building houses and clinics and classrooms through partnerships and goodwill.

When the IFP administered KwaZulu Natal for the first ten years of democracy, we built on the good foundation we had laid, pouring resources into development. We understood then, as we do now, that a thriving economy is a prerequisite for meeting the needs of our people. We had to generate funds, and then use those funds wisely.

This is the way we operate at municipal level as well. It’s part of the IFP’s character. This is why, in IFP-led municipalities, there is good financial management and the budget is stretched to meet the communities’ needs. In municipalities where we don’t govern, our councillors still have a positive impact, for they hold your public representatives accountable and bring the conversation back to good governance again and again.

We are not in this for the politics, the money or the power. The IFP exists to serve. It’s the reason we began in 1975, and the reason we continue 22 years into democracy: because the needs are still great among our people, and many families need assistance.

The IFP is your partner in getting things done. We work to get the basics sorted, because everyone needs a decent house, everyone needs food on the table, everyone needs healthcare and education and protection from crime. This is the work we do, day in and day out, on your behalf, in partnership with you. Over 41 years, it has made us the party you can trust.

There is no point in trusting people with money when they have no intention of using that money to meet your needs. It is better to place your trust in people who care, people who are working hard for you, and people who know how to get the job done even when resources are scarce.

As this family makes a home in their new house, I wish them every happiness. May this be the new beginning they need to find hope again.

I am honoured to be the first to say, “Welcome home!”