The controversy over the leadership of the Inkatha Freedom Party is a storm in a teacup, the party’s president, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, said on Saturday.
In a speech prepared for delivery at an IFP rally in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, he said some people are waiting ”with bated breath” for the ”explosion of our party, and even its burial”.
”They will soon realise that what we see is no more than just a storm in a teacup,” he said.
But he also said that the battle between himself and reformist national chairperson Ziba Jiyane is ”not merely a bid for the leadership” by Jiyane.
”We are witnessing a battle for the heart and soul of the IFP,” he said.
”The stakes are high, for the battle for the heart and soul of the IFP is the battle for the heart and soul of democracy in South Africa.”
On the one side there are the faint-hearted who want to deliver the IFP to the African National Congress, and on the other side is the ”vast majority” that knows only the IFP can provide ”the muscular and vibrant alternative” to the ruling party.
Buthelezi said his own credentials and record are open for all to see.
”Love me or loathe me, there is no one who can say that they do not know what I stand for,” he said. — Sapa