Wonder Hlongwa and Mukoni T Ratshitanga
THE Inkatha Freedom Party has closed three of its 14 national offices, amid a cash crunch caused by falling membership fees. Senior IFP officials say the party, due to hold its annual conference in Ulundi this weekend, has been hit by poor management and administration and a breakdown in the collection of membership fees – its main source of funds.
The officials, who decline to be named, say the party is not bankrupt – ”We are just experiencing cash-flow problems” – but the lack of cash is hampering efforts to broaden its support beyond KwaZulu-Natal. The party had 20 national offices prior to the 1994 elections.
The IFP’s treasurer general, Arthur Konigkramer, refused this week to say how many members the party has, or how many have paid their fees.
But he said the three satellite offices – in Gauteng, the Free State and the Eastern Cape – had shut because they failed to support themselves. Affected staff had been redeployed.
”Why should KwaZulu-Natal subsidise other provinces?” Konigkramer asked. ”Each province has to find its own funders, through fund-raising and through the membership.”
Dealing with the party’s cash problems ahead of the 1999 elections will be high on the conference agenda this weekend.
The IFP’s chief fund-raiser, Deputy Safety and Security Minister Joe Matthews, is expected to table a series of fund-raising initiatives at the conference.
He unveiled one last weekend: drafting in former KwaZulu-Natal premier Frank Mdlalose to spearhead the fund-raising drive.
The party is also planning to reshape the role of secretary general into a more administrative, less political, function. The current incumbent, Ziba Jiyane, is to step down at the conference.
The deputy secretary general, Zakhele Khumalo, tipped to succeed Jiyane, conceded the party was suffering from cash-flow problems.
He blamed lower subscription fees on the IFP’s decision late last year to lift its joining fee to R10 from R3, and its renewal fees to R5 from R2. Konigkramer also refused to be drawn on the funds the party currently has in its coffers. ”Those are confidential matters,” he said. ”No party can reveal its funding to public scrutiny.”
l The African National Congress, which faces a similar cash squeeze, has slashed staffing in its youth and womens’ league offices from 16 employees to six. Both will now have to operate with only four paid office bearers and two administrative staffers.
The party this week failed to respond to inquiries about the full extent of its cutback programme, though it emerged last week that more than 150 staff would go across the country.
Staff at the party’s Shell House headquarters said there were plans to absorb some retrenched staff into government departments.
The ANC’s provincial offices have so far not been affected and will retain at least three paid staffers each. It is believed, however, that the ANC is considering closing down its sub-head office in Cape Town.