What has precipitated the current crisis in the Inkatha Freedom Party?
I have been attending all the [IFP national council] meetings and it is sad that leaders within the party have been saying things to the media that I know are not true.
The City Press article [which claimed that IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi had offered to step down] was crap. Most of the media articles about a divided party are misleading and a clear indication that IFP leaders are being paid to leak news to the media. This is the only conclusion that we can draw.
So it is a rumour that Buthelezi offered to resign at the national council meeting last Wednesday?
All I can remember is that he said the [IFP general] conference, which takes place in July, will give people a chance to determine his political future.
Buthelezi’s behaviour during the past month has been unpredictable. He challenged the election results and then dropped the case. He ordered two IFP members to withdraw from the provincial legislature because the IFP hadn’t been consulted about their appointments. Did these actions nudge the party towards its current crisis?
All these decisions were taken by the national council. Prince Buthelezi does not rule with an iron fist — he believes in collective wisdom.
This crisis was ameliorated this week after the ANC offered the IFP a third portfolio, arts and culture, along with the original two, public works and social welfare. Are you satisfied?
Obviously we would’ve preferred a more influential portfolio than arts and culture, but for the sake of peace in the province we are happy with [KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu] Ndebele’s offer.
These elections have essentially reduced the IFP to a regional party. What went wrong?
It all goes back to the media, who have created this perception that we are a spent force. Maybe it’s just that people didn’t show up to the polls. Maybe it’s that there wasn’t sufficient voter education in the rural areas.
Also the former KZN premier [Lionel Mtshali] didn’t have such an easy job in Parliament because there were too many opposing forces from the ANC. This made his service delivery mandate difficult to fulfil.
Who would the youth brigade like to see taking over the party reins?
My personal views are not relevant. At the end of the day the youth brigade will point out at conference who those individuals are. I personally am comfortable with the current leadership.
You speak for yourself here, not for the majority?
Yes. The party owes it to itself now to put the more vibrant leaders in key and strategic positions to ensure [its] survival.
Is it true that the IFP youth and local authority members are disgruntled that they were excluded from the party’s parliamentary and provincial candidate lists?
It was a consensual decision that local authority members would be excluded from the lists to avoid holding by-elections in the municipalities. We decided to leave local councillors on the ground and pull other people from the party ranks to sit in Parliament.
Should Vincent Ngema and Musa Zondi have turned down the offer of deputy ministerial posts in the national government?
If the IFP national council decides to accept President Thabo Mbeki’s offer of two deputy ministerial posts, we hope that he will calm down and change his mind to include Zondi and Ngema.
Do you agree with the assessment that Mbeki’s appointment of Ngema and Zondi was an attempt to marginalise the IFP old guard and empower younger elements less averse to cooperation with the ruling party?
Yes, to the degree that we expected Mbeki to offer the leader of the IFP the ministry or ministries that he earmarked for the IFP. We expected consultation rather than being dictated to.
What is your assessment of Ndebele with regard to the peace process in the province and in terms of service delivery?
Well, we’ll wait and see.
An ANC member, Dumisani Makhaye, has been appointed provincial minister of housing, local government and traditional affairs. Does this worry you?
Yes, it’s very worrying that the IFP, which understands the importance of traditional leaders in the province, isn’t managing the portfolio.
What is your plan of action to bring the party back from the brink?
At the moment people are still very disappointed.
However, we believe that we still have a constituency to serve. We are consulting our supporters to gauge what their expectations are. Once all that information has been gathered, the youth brigade will hold a strategy planning workshop on how to take the party forward.