The sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZ) government in Vryheid earlier this week, which was aimed at ”taking parliament to the people”, was a scandal, says Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
”It is scandalous for parliamentarians to hold a glitzy imbizo [meeting] to tell the electorate what a fabulous job they are doing. It is patronising, self-serving and wasteful,” he said in his weekly newsletter on Friday.
It was also a waste of taxpayers’ money, Buthelezi said.
The provincial parliament’s four-day sitting in the town, located in the north of the province, was marred by violence on Monday and Tuesday, with African National Congress and IFP supporters hurling chairs around.
Buthelezi’s daughter, Phumzile, was injured on day one of the event when a chair hit her on the head. Vryheid is located in the Abaqulusi district, an IFP stronghold.
The IFP leader criticised the ”Taking Parliament to the People” initiative as ”a public forum for the ruling party to garner votes for whatever election follows next”.
”This is blatant misuse of taxpayers’ money; it is a form of corruption, the ruling party’s outrageous attempt to control the people with their own money,” Buthelezi said. — Sapa