Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) deputy President Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi has denied that there are tensions between the IFP and the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), expressing confidence in his party’s ability to lead the province after the May elections.

In an exclusive interview with Polity, Buthelezi said the country’s democracy has matured so much that political parties are able to understand that they have to co-exist and appreciate each another.

“I wouldn’t say there are tensions in KZN and there is violence between political parties because there is no evidence to that, the only thing that many people can begin to refer to is what happened last weekend which has nothing to do with ANC IFP. I think people should avoid taking things out of proportion and creating anxiety where it is unnecessary so,” he said.

The recent by-elections in the province has shown that, in certain areas, the IFP is taking support from the ANC.

“…and we believe that from the feedback [KZN residents] are giving us and the amount of support that we get from general public, gives us confidence that the IFP will grow significantly and will be the Premier of the province,” Buthelezi stated.

He said it is possible for the IFP to enter into coalition with the ANC, or any party, as long as that party agrees with it in terms of its core values.

“As much as we view the ANC as a party that should be removed from power because it has betrayed the people and it is full of arrogance, however, when we vote on May 29 and their vote gets below the majority, if it happens that we do not actually achieve the number as the different political parties, government at the end of the day must be formed so it doesn’t matter who as long as that particular party or person agrees with us in terms of our core values then we are going to form a coalition,” he said.

He said it is important to note that the ANC with the majority is different from the ANC in a coalition, because “blunders they are doing is because of the arrogance and understanding that they are in power.”

Meanwhile, Buthelezi noted that the relationship between the IFP and the Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN is stable.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

When breaking down the main points laid out in the IFP’s manifesto, Buthelezi stated that illegal foreigners are law breakers, adding that this should not be tolerated.

Buthelezi noted that if the IFP takes power after the May elections, it will give illegal immigrants a six months grace period to vacate the country.

“All illegal foreigners must pack their bags and go or they just have to show themselves to the authorities so that they can be regularised because you cannot have a country that has so many foreigners who are illegal and are never accounted for,” he said.

He highlighted that some of the failures in this area are not that of government, but as a result of illegal foreigners who are not known and cannot be accounted for.

“…you will find that government will allocate medication in a clinic for 30 people in a day, only to find that 100 illegal foreigners go there and use that allocated medication for South African citizens and when citizens go to clinic they cannot find anything,” he claimed.

He said that if everyone is regularised, it will help government in terms of planning and resource allocation.

He also said, should it take power, the IFP will bill the countries that illegal foreigners are leaving for South Africa.

“If we have large number of people coming from Zimbabwe that are actually accessing our healthcare services, we are going to get all those people and then charge that government for whatever resources their people are consuming from our side,” he said.