Dr Ziba Jiyane was elected national chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party at its annual general conference last week. He was nominated from the floor and comprehensively beat party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s choice, Lionel Mtshali, by about 600 votes. Jiyane returns to leadership after he left politics in 1997 because of ill-health.
Do you see yourself as being brought back for the specific purpose of revitalising the party?
Yes, I think that’s what people who voted me into the position primarily expect me to do. But I have said that I cannot be a saviour but a servant, part of a team. I cannot do it alone.
Are you accountable mainly to the youth brigade, which ensured your nomination and victory?
I was not elected by the youth brigade but by all the structures. The people who approached me to stand were not just youth but people mainly from Empangeni, Durban. Many told me they were products of the structures I had set up before I left seven years ago and they wanted me to consolidate that work. Youth were an important part but it was not them alone. What I had not anticipated was the intensity of feelings about my appointment.
Will we see a restructuring of the IFP and the way it operates?
Yes, the constitution has been amended and we are in the process of having an elected national council. All our structures will also be revitalised to reflect the will of the people. The national council will be reconstituted and be reduced from its current number of about 300 to a more manageable number.
What is the IFP plan for the local government elections next year?
Our plans are contained in the resolutions of the conference made last week. We will be forming an election committee that will articulate the exact details and be more visible as we approach the elections.
Is it not ironic that your appointment was the most celebrated, when the conference decided to curtail the powers of the national chairperson and give them to the reformed secretary general position?
Yes, traditionally the chairperson played a key role in government — both Dr Frank Mdlalose and Dr Lionel Mtshali were premiers. The national chairperson therefore cannot be a full-time position. I also have other commitments and will not be full-time.
What are these commitments?
I am a pastor in Empangeni and I am also in business. I have investments in property as well as agriculture. I am in the process of buying a bus company.
How does the IFP define itself in relation to the African National Congress?
I see the IFP as a party that represents a philosophically conservative approach. In a mature democracy there are usually two political streams, the liberal and the conservative. I believe the ANC has cornered the centrist left position. That is why all other left parties perform so badly. However, there is room for a centrist right party that is strong on morality and family values. I believe the IFP also wants transformation but in the context of values. Empowerment of people without values is not really empowerment; we need to bring back morality.
How do you relate to the IFP president and why did you have to issue a statement saying you are not competing with him?
On Sunday morning there was an unfortunate perception created that there was conflict between me and the president. Apparently there was a newspaper article that said seven years ago Buthelezi had fired me from the party because I was more popular than him. He was not angry but he wanted me to clarify. We could not just ignore that article.