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The IFP in Gauteng convened a strategic workshop, which took place from 16 to 18 October 2020, at the Saint George Hotel and Conference Centre. The workshop was organised under the theme: “Building Gauteng IFP on the Strong Legacy in a New Season of Struggle for Economic and Social Justice Structured on Democratic Ideals”. The workshop was aimed at preparing the Party’s strategy for the 2021 Local Government Elections and beyond.
 
The workshop kicked off with an official opening address by the Party President, Hon. VF Hlabisa, MPL. Key to his address was the message that the IFP is no longer about fancy slogans and singing, but a Party serious about governance. He also emphasised that the IFP in Gauteng must invest in making its structures more effective and functional. He identified strong functional structures as vital to the Party’s planning and mobilisation ahead of the 2021 Election Campaign.  His address concluded by underscoring the importance of time frames and the need for planning over time, as opposed to planning overnight.  
 
The event also included inputs from political scholar and analyst, Professor Somadoda Fikeni, who reflected on the Party’s shortcomings and provided advice in the areas in need of improvement going forward.  A key suggestion was for the IFP to ensure that its voice becomes known on the current social and economic justice issues, so that it finds resonance and relevance with the greater population of Gauteng, and not just its traditional supporters ahead of the elections.
 
The workshop also allowed an opportunity for the various delegates, from all Gauteng IFP structures, to present their plans of actions and programmes to be undertaken as part of the greater 2021 Election Campaign. The event concluded with the following Workshop Resolutions:
 
THE WORKSHOP RESOLVED:

• To call upon all the IFP Gauteng structures (branches, constituency, districts, Women and  Youth brigades, and Izindunas) to work together and harder to make the 2021 Local Elections a success, and fully implement the Election Campaign requirements of the Party, which will be outlined in the Party’s Manifesto.
• To mobilise all IFP Gauteng members and supporters to become activists for the Party by visibly campaigning and promoting policies of the Party.
• To ensure that identified Party volunteers are properly trained and capacitated so that that they can diligently serve the Party throughout the Election Campaign.
• To continue programmes that put the needs of the people first, ensuring service delivery in all municipalities where the Party is represented and beyond, and do so ethically.
• For the Gauteng IFP to lead the narrative highlighting the Party’s stance on key economic and social issues (i.e. unemployment; support of small and medium businesses and gender-based violence).
• To deliberately empower Party members by disseminating information about opportunities in the government structures where the IFP is represented.
• To ensure that the Gauteng IFP members and volunteers are politically empowered to become custodians of the IFP ideological position of a social free-market economy and pragmatism, free from obsessions with ‘isms’.
• To continue supporting the spirit of unity within the Party, meanwhile acknowledging that there is a diversity of views and opinions.
• To have the PEC develop and implement the comprehensive plan of action as discussed during this workshop.

Issued by IFP