Representatives of the Inkatha Freedom Party and African National Congress met for talks in Durban on Tuesday, but the talks were inconclusive, ANC national spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said.
He added that the meeting between teams led by ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma and the IFP’s Celani Mthetwa at Kings House in Durban was regarded ”as a meeting in progress, as always.”
No date or time for another meeting was set.
His IFP counterpart, Musa Zondi, also confirmed that the meeting took place but added he was ”not allowed to say anything further” because of a joint decision taken at the meeting.
He did add that the meeting was the latest in a series dating back to 1998.
Ngonyama, also earlier in the day, said the talks would focus on the increasingly strained relationship between the two parties, an issue of particular importance ahead of the upcoming national and provincial elections.
The mood in KwaZulu-Natal soured considerably after several IFP provincial politicians defected to the ANC during a ”window” period last year, causing a change in the balance of power.
The meeting comes amid fears of renewed clashes between ANC and IFP supporters in the province, where around 12 000 people were killed in the run-up to the first non-racial elections in 1994.
The two parties signed a peace pact for the 1999 election and the province has been relatively peaceful since then.
However, ANC and IFP supporters clashed in Port Shepstone at the weekend. – Sapa