South Africa’s Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) — which runs about half of the municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and holds seats in the African National Congress-led (ANC) government in that province — has warned against ”the peril of complacence” in face of the danger of South Africa descending into a one-party state.
The party — led by former minister of home affairs Mangosuthu Buthelezi — warned in a resolution against ”political thuggery” and criticised moves ”within the [ruling] ANC alliance” to alter or remove the continuing legislative authority of the provinces, ”which constitutes a direct assault on chapter six of the Constitution … and an obvious attempt to direct debate towards the redefinition of the country’s overall form of state”.
Moves by Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi to reconfigure the provincial system — including the suggested merging of certain provinces — has recently received the backing of the largest trade union federation in South Africa, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Meanwhile, the IFP also noted as evidence of the one-party state trend ”the elevation of the executive [Cabinet] far beyond that of MPs, whose dwindling role is now appallingly evident and whose ability to function effectively appears to be increasingly negligible with ruling party members in Parliament now acting as mere voting fodder for the unquestioned execution of the legislative mandates required by the executive and [ruling] ANC leadership”.
The resolution — which noted the stealing of opposition party representatives through floor-crossing legislation — called for ”all patriots to be vigilant and to resist the constant and deliberate erosion of our constitutional order, including many of the agreements reached prior to 1994” during the multiparty constitutional negotiations, ”some of which were translated immediately into law and others were included in the Constitution and which are now subject to increasing amendment or repeal”.
IFP resolution warns against ethnic canvassing
Meanwhile, an IFP resolution has warned against using ethnic origin as a mechanism for mobilising political support, as well as interpreting recent court action involving former deputy president Jacob Zuma as a form of ethnic persecution.
In a resolution distributed to the media on Monday — following a weekend national conference of the IFP led by Buthelezi — the party noted that there was evidence of ”certain persons and groups” attempting to use the ethnic origin of Zuma — who is Zulu-speaking — ”as a means to rally support and sympathy relating to his recent plight”. It warned of ”the extreme danger of so doing”.
The resolution read further: ”It is unacceptable that there may be a belief in certain quarters that politics can in future be organised and contested in South Africa along ethnic lines and [the IFP] calls on all members to be vigilant in relation to allegations that Mr Zuma was prosecuted and — by inference — persecuted because he is Zulu.”
Corruption charges against Zuma — who was axed as the nation’s deputy president last year — were struck from the roll by the Pietermaritzburg High Court last month.
Meanwhile, the resolution noted that the scourge of Africa ”has been the death and destruction that has been caused by combinations of ethnic nationalism, ethnic rivalries and absurd beliefs and posturing that certain cultures are superior to others”.
IFP rejects anti-Zille ‘power grab’
The IFP also placed it on record that it would support ”all efforts” to test the constitutionality of the proposed ”ruthless power grab” directed against Democratic Alliance (DA) Cape Town mayor Helen Zille and her multiparty city government.
This appears in a resolution passed by the party’s national conference in Ulundi at the weekend and distributed to the media on Monday.
The resolution reads: ”Conference agrees with the views already expressed by all right-thinking and outraged South Africans that the current attempt to strip Cape Town Mayor, Ms Helen Zille, of her power to govern the Mother City and its environs dangerously threatens democracy, not only in that specific sphere of government, but should also serve as a warning to government structures and voters throughout South Africa. — I-Net Bridge