KwaZulu-Natal’s premier-in-waiting is a=20 cautious, sauve politician with an=20 impressive resum=E9, reports Ann Eveleth
KWAZULU-NATAL’S premier-designate, Ben=20 Ngubane, has signalled he will do Inkatha=20 Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s=20 bidding, rather than risk the fate of his=20 colleagues.=20
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian=20 this week, Ngubane stressed that he would=20 not make controversial policy moves without=20 the support of the IFP’s national council=20 which Buthelezi controls with an iron fist.
He pledged to champion the cause of party=20 traditionalists, promising to keep up the=20 pressure on the African National Congress=20 to accept Inkatha’s long-standing=20 constitutional demands.
“Our people have not accepted that their=20 interests have been taken care of,” he=20 said. “You can speak generally about the=20 Constitution protecting human rights but=20 that’s not enough. Communities must feel=20 secure. At the moment there’s no security.”=20
Ngubane hints that these constitutional=20 victories will be the key to maintaining=20 the IFP’s traditional support base in the=20 1999 elections: “These are the things that=20 must be addressed, so that I can go to a=20 peasant in the countryside and say `This=20 dispensation has brought you this. These=20 are the things that it secures, that it=20 guarantees for you,’ ” he said.
Observers said this week that Ngubane’s=20 nomination to succeed outgoing party=20 chairman and provincial Premier Frank=20 Mdlalose was a shrewd move by Buthelezi. He=20 has marshalled the talents of a respected=20 moderate to extract concessions from the=20 ANC and position the IFP for electoral=20 victory in the province in 1999.=20
Ngubane has already signalled he will push=20 hard during peace talks with the ANC.=20 Denying that his party was opposed to ANC=20 national chairman Jacob Zuma’s “peace=20 package”, he said the problem was a lack of=20 clarity on the terms of the agreement, and=20 that the two parties should be looking=20 toward a “comprehensive political=20 settlement … You know they met with the=20 Nationalists, when they came back from=20 exile. There was the Groote Schoor minute,=20 the Pretoria minute and many, many such=20 consultations and understandings. We have=20 not had that type of understanding,” he=20 said.=20
Observers suggest he may prove a more=20 formidable negotiating partner for the ANC=20 than Mdlalose – whose close ties to Zuma=20 are reported to have contributed to his=20 downfall. Ngubane honed his skills as a=20 negotiator during the World Trade Centre=20 talks and is well-versed in the party’s=20 constitutional demands.=20
It was this – and his respected tenure as=20 South Africa’s first arts and culture=20 minister – that will help Ngubane resurrect=20 the IFP’s reputation as the party of=20 business-friendly traditionalists, which=20 earned it international attention in the=20 1980s.
The suave, approachable young medical=20 doctor has already staked his claim on=20 these two divergent paths: “Let’s put it=20 this way. A political party grows or=20 disappears depending on the support it can=20 muster,” he said. “So, we have a varied=20 constituency … There’s the business=20 sector, the traditional sector, minorities,=20 cultural and religious diversity – we are=20 trying to accommodate all that within the=20 IFP.”
He said his party planned to transcend its=20 rural strongholds with “forays” into=20 suburbia, to challenge the Democratic=20 Party’s support base.
With Ngubane’s reputation and the national=20 council’s support he appears to be the=20 party’s best choice for the job, but party=20 sceptics warn he will have to tread=20 carefully.
“He has no enemies,” a senior IFP official=20 said. “But he also has no close allies -=20 mainly because he’s stayed out of the=20 controversies in the party. Now he will=20 have to take decisions, and he will make=20 enemies.”
Ngubane expressed confidence in his ability=20 to accommodate the party’s competing=20 interest groups.=20
This week’s dramatic resignation=20 announcements by Mdlalose, party secretary=20 general Ziba Jiyane and Gauteng legislature=20 leader Musa Myeni have – despite the=20 party’s attempts to minimise their=20 significance – highlighted the growing=20 disillusionment of the party’s most skilled=20 leaders.
The timing and manner of the departures=20 (see sidebar), together with reports that=20 other leaders are expected to follow,=20 suggest Ngubane will inherit not only a=20 disillusioned party machinery, but also a=20 depleted skills base from which to launch=20 his “implementation” plans for the=20 province.
Those rumoured to be leaving include Walter=20 Felgate, Correctional Services Minister=20 Sipo Mzimela, MP Dennis Madide, local MEC=20 Peter Miller, IFP national organiser Senzo=20 Mfayela and public works MEC Celani Mtetwa.
Ngubane does have plans, however, to=20 bolster “good governance” and=20 “accountability” in the KwaZulu-Natal=20 government. He intends to inject some of=20 his national government know-how into the=20 province with government peer reviews,=20 performance measurement-related budget=20 prioritisation, and “collegial governance”=20 modelled on the national Cabinet’s=20 collective review processes.
The outstanding question is whether he will=20 be able to do this under the province’s -=20 and particularly the traditionalists’ -=20 prevailing culture of patronage.
Will he create friction when he=20 “restructures” the Cabinet? Will he appoint=20 a militarist like Phillip Powell to the=20 safety and security portfolio? Will he be=20 able to follow through with recent efforts=20 to oust inefficient IFP politicians like=20 education MEC Vincent Zulu, legislature=20 secretary Robert Mzimela and speaker Gideon=20 Mdlalose from their posts in order to bring=20 about the efficiency he promises? Or will=20 he be blocked by party traditionalists?=20
Ngubane says he has reached his new=20 position – described by Buthelezi as his=20 “right-hand man” – through “cautious”=20 consultation with his principals: “If I get=20 an idea or a vision, I will go to my party=20 caucus and discuss it with them. And then=20 if it means a policy change or a=20 modification of policy, I will go to my=20 national council and get approval. [The=20 World Trade Centre talks were] always with=20 reference to the principals.=20
“It’s a tedious process, but unless you do=20 it, you are bound to get into problems. So=20 I tend to be very cautious in how I’ve=20 conducted myself in politics.”