For the new ANC chair in KwaZulu-Natal, peace is a priority, writes Swapna Prabhakaran
The newly elected African National Congress chair in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed that next year’s elections will happen on non-violent terms – or not at all.
S’bu Ndebele, who took over the reins from outgoing provincial party chair Jacob Zuma this week, said his first priority would be to make sure violence and intimidation play no part in the general elections.
“No party will be able to win these elections on the basis of violence,” Ndebele said, adding that any results influenced by violence should be deemed invalid. “If necessary, South Africa can go on without KwaZulu-Natal. We will wait until our elections are free and fair.”
Despite continued peace talks with the Inkatha Freedom Party, fears are high that the province may experience a return to the violence that haunted the 1994 elections.
Already many of KwaZulu- Natal’s rural areas are tense, and over the past few months a number of violent deaths have been reported in Glebelands, Lindelani, Izingolweni, Nongoma and Richmond. However, Ndebele said the ANC-IFP talks about peace will reach a conclusion within the next two months.
“We have moved from a situation of war to a situation of no war, but we do not yet have peace,” he said. “Establishing peace is the route to democratisation of the province – absolute, unconditional peace.”
Ndebele, the man most likely to become premier if the ANC wins the province, is aware the key to his priorities would be the ANC’s ability to penetrate rural KwaZulu-Natal – long considered an IFP stronghold. He is also aware the threat of violence has previously inhibited the party’s campaigns in those areas.
Once peace is established, along with a strictly enforced code of conduct for both parties, those areas will become open hunting grounds for much-needed votes.
“In the last elections, the IFP got 1,8-million votes; we got 1,2-million. Under conditions of peace, the chances of the ANC are extremely good. We are quite confident we will win the elections,” Ndebele said. The ANC is sure of the support of the urban majority, and local government election results show that its support base in the cities is enormous.
Much of the party’s new election strategy lies in increasing its number of rural voters. It is a task which brings the party up against the amakhosi (chiefs).
In his final speech as ANC provincial chair at the party conference last weekend, Zuma identified the urgent need to resolve the role of traditional leaders in the province. The issue is a thorny one, as many of the traditional leaders have a perceived allegiance to the IFP.
These leaders have an immense following in rural areas, which could translate to votes if they are granted executive powers in Parliament.
The ANC and IFP are still at loggerheads over the extent of political powers that the amakhosi should be given. Zuma said both parties need to agree on a role for the amakhosi which will “not undermine their dignity and status but enhance it, while [they do] not operate as ordinary elected politicians”.
Zuma said the official ANC line is that “involving traditional leaders in the hurly-burly of modern politics is degrading to their positions”.
Ndebele said this week: “Any inkosi should be above party politics. If [chiefs] want to participate in politics, they must elect an acting chief to take on their responsibilities while they are in their elected positions.”
The ANC is also focusing on attracting votes from minority communities. “Six votes make a difference. You can even win the elections by two votes,” Ndebele said.
The ANC has already devoted considerable energy to wooing the Indian vote. Indians number less than a million in South Africa, but most of them live in KwaZulu-Natal.