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Dear friends and fellow South Africans,

Plato said "The first and best victory is to conquer self". I have found
this to be true in life and politics, both of which I have seen a lot of.
The principle of discipline has shifted to the forefront of our minds
lately, with Mr Malema's long overdue disciplinary hearing finally taking
place.

The fact that the ANC Youth League's leaders denied knowledge of the
hearing, while at the same time attending it, offers another insult to our
intelligence. Someone needs to stop the merry-go-round of spin in the Youth
League, for it has taken on a momentum of its own and is likely to start
throwing people off.

That might not be a bad thing for the sake of winnowing its leadership.
There is certainly a need to separate the wheat from the chaff in the
political arena. The problem is that the wrong people always end up taking
the heat. I suspect that before this notorious hearing has ended, we are
likely to see more character assassination and mud slinging from the ANC
Youth League.

A few days ago, the IFP had reason to discipline two of our own members who
brought the Party into disrepute. This is an essential, if unpleasant, duty
of leadership, because discipline is the torch that keeps the wolves of
discord and chaos at bay. The IFP doesn't balk at disciplining its members,
but we place great emphasis on cultivating self-discipline first.

On Monday I had the opportunity to participate in the Budget Road Show of
the Abaqulusi Local Municipality. Abaqulusi is one of the few municipalities
that consistently receives an unqualified audit report, of which the IFP is
rightly proud. We have not seen the kind of social protest and upheaval in
IFP-led municipal areas that we see in the ANC's domain, where public
discontent is expressed through burning buildings and tyres.

As I spoke to the people Abaqulusi Municipality serves, I was reminded of
the ANC's tactic during apartheid of making South Africa and its townships
ungovernable. I disagreed with that approach and took a stand for
self-discipline and passive resistance, knowing that a culture of
ungovernability would ingrain itself on the mindset of our people and carry
into the new South Africa after liberation.

I am not against social protest. Indeed, it is a valuable tool with which to
address injustice. Over 35 years, the IFP has often organized and
participated in marches and demonstrations, in both the days of segregation
and democracy. But there is a world of difference between a peaceful
demonstration and the chaotic discord, often simmering into violence, which
keeps showing up on our news bulletins.

The ANC's propaganda machine is still running. The mindset of
ungovernability persists. And the principle of discipline finds itself on a
precarious footing.

This month, Mr Colin Eglin, that tireless patriot and fighter for freedom,
turned 85. I was delighted to receive an invitation to celebrate his
Birthday. But as I indicated in a letter to him, "I am still tied to a
formidable schedule and find myself still shoulder deep in political
wrangling". Sadly, I could not attend.

Mr Eglin is one of that generation where integrity trumped expediency. I
sometimes wonder if integrity, discipline and fair play are considered old
fashioned values among the current generation. If so, I am proud to remain
old fashioned. William Penn, one of America's early champions of democracy,
said, "No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself."

Politics is one arena where a level head is essential to longevity of
career. I dare say, and I am sure many of us hope, that Mr Malema will be a
flash in the pan. Who had heard of this man two years ago? What are his
principles? Where do his boundaries lie?

In a democracy, people have the right to know the leaders they have elected
to serve them. When one lives in the public spotlight, the lines between
what is private and what is public are easily blurred.

The ANC Youth League is learning this, even as they call media enquiries
about Mr Malema's whereabouts "preposterous" and "stupid". It was probably
more difficult to obfuscate when the entourage of security and luxury
vehicles announced his presence. Yes, disciplinary hearings are internal
procedures to which the media should not be privy. But the Youth League
should have known where to draw the line long before this.

It is all a matter of discipline. This month the IFP is scheduled to hold
its Annual General Conference which, in terms of our Constitution, will be
an elective conference. Increasingly the media is seeking answers about
whether I shall continue to make myself available to serve as the President
of the Party, and whether the inevitable ructions before an election will
amount to anything on the day.

We have seen instances of ill-discipline and disruptive behaviour at our
meetings, which is all par for the course as one approaches elections. But
the newspaper headlines about fistfights in Ulundi and chair throwing in
Johannesburg and Vryheid are concerning, for this culture of disorderly
conduct is foreign and new to the IFP.

Being particularly prone to impatience, the youth have shown signs of
disquiet. But I am encouraged by the return to the fold of Mr S'Khumbuzo
Khanyeza who has been reinstated in terms of our Constitution to his
position as provincial leader of the Youth Brigade in KwaZulu Natal.

Mr Khanyeza has called a meeting of the Youth Brigade just two weeks before
Conference, and I look forward to engaging our youth on their views and
concerns at this critical time. The IFP has always been a party of collegial
wisdom and collegial responsibility. We know that the youth have a valuable
contribution to make and we will listen to what they have to say.

I am still impressed that the overwhelming majority of our youth displays
the IFP traits of self-discipline and respect for party structures. But I
shall not stop talking to our youth about discipline and respect, because I
recognize that my generation of leaders is passing the baton on to a new
generation that has been raised in more liberal world, which itself contains
features both good and bad.

I feel the weight of my responsibility more keenly now than ever before. My
legacy and the legacy of the IFP remain relevant to South Africa; and
perhaps more so to the South Africa we all hope to become.

Yours in the service of the nation,