Sources say the IFP has no alternative but to quit the government of national unity and form a vocal backbench opposition. Weekly Mail & Guardian Reporter
THE Inkatha Freedom Party is likely to pull out of the Government of National Unity but return to parliament before the expiry of the 15-day deadline that could see the IFP MPs forfeit their seats.
IFP sources say the balance of probabilities is that the party’s special general conference beginning in Ulundi today will vote against continued participation in the GNU, but parliamentarians will return and possibly also take part in the constitutional assembly.
The sources say the failure of the ANC and the National Party to set a date for international mediation agreed before last April’s election had left the party with no alternative but to quit the government and form a vocal backbench opposition.
IFP secretary-general Dr Ziba Jiyane said hopes that the walkout could spur an agreement on international mediation had been dashed by ANC and NP intransigence.
Those in the party who hoped the unity government could be salvaged would be left without an argument when they faced the IFP’s national council tonight and some 2 000 branch delegates tomorrow, sources said.
According to the national constitution, an IFP pull-out could see greater domination of cabinet portfolios by ANC and NP ministers, while the IFP would be freed from the confines of consensus decision-making and would be able to criticise government policy openly.
ANC kwaZulu/Natal spokesman Dumisane Makhaye warned in a statement issued yesterday that this weekend’s conference would “not be discussing how to take the province forward”, but would focus on “how best to plunge this province and the country as a whole into bloodshed and chaos”.
The IFP sources argued that although the walkout almost two weeks ago had been inspired by the televised comments of President Nelson Mandela two days earlier which appeared to dismiss the need for mediation, a number of greivances with the GNU had already been boiling below the surface. These included:
* The “unilateral” formation of the task force on kwaZulu Police (KZP) hit squads by national Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi. The sources said the task force was “loaded with people who hate the IFP, such as Major Frank Dutton” and charged that the task force was “bribing people and putting them up in hotels and promising them houses to testify against the IFP”.
* The banning of last month’s graduation ceremony of some 500 KZP trainees.
* The ANC’s attitude in “taking key decisions without us”, including the composition of the Constitutional Court and the allocation of chairmanships of the parliamentary select committees. “We only have Public Enterprise while in kwaZulu/Natal the ANC demanded four key committees,” said a source.
* The ANC’s approaches to King Goodwill Zwelithini, which were made without consultation with IFP Premier Frank Mdlalose. “Mangosuthu Buthelezi said long ago that if there was anything that could disrupt relations between the parties it was interference with the king,” the source added.
With regard to kwaZulu/Natal, the position of the IFP remains unclear. Some sources were adamant that the party would not disrupt the existing IFP-dominated provincial government. The kwaZulu/Natal cabinet ended a three-day bosberaad this week with the aim of bringing about “good governance”.
But other sources say Buthelezi may take up the post of the new premier of the province after a shake-up of party lists becomes possible in May. These sources say such a move could be tied to a dissolution of the provincial parliament and the calling of fresh elections, to enable the party to shore up its majority in the province beyond the two-thirds mark needed to ratify the provincial constitution. This would enable Buthelezi to fight for a strong devolution of power to the province and to seek greater autonomy for the “kingdom of kwaZulu”. It would also force Zwelithini to deal with his uncle, with whom he “severed ties” last
But other sources insisted that Buthelezi already had a foothold in the province through his chairmanship of the house of traditional leaders and had already demonstrated that most of the province’s 300 chiefs supported him.
As leader of a national party, Buthelezi would therefore remain in the national parliament, where he would build the party’s support base throughout the country as a major opposition figure, the sources said.