Date: 13/08/2011
Source: The Inkatha Freedom Party
Title: IFP: Buthelezi: Address by the president, at a meeting with the constituency of Ulundi, KZN

I thank you for inviting me as the constituency of Ulundi today. There
is so much on my heart that I wish to share with you. Much has
happened, and there is much to consider as we look to the future. I am
here to thank you for your support. But I am also here to sound a
warning. But I must stress my thanks that you have requested to have
this meeting with me. Even though that is the case, I cannot help but
take advantage of this being the first meeting I have had with this
constituency to which I belong, since the May 18 local government
election, to say thank you to you.

The final battle of the Anglo-Zulu War was fought here, on this soil,
in 1879. The significance of Ulundi in the record of history is
unquestionable. My own great-grandfather, Mnyamana Buthelezi, was the
Commander-in-Chief of King Cetshwayo's regiments. My ties to Ulundi
therefore run deep.

Although my work in politics and public life has taken me throughout
the world, I have never left this part of KwaZulu Natal. This was the
seat of the erstwhile KwaZulu Government, and we fought hard to
maintain its historical stature as the seat of the provincial
legislature.

Thus when people think of Inkatha, they think of Ulundi. And when they
think of Ulundi, they think of Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In the national
psyche, Ulundi is the fulcrum of the IFP. Even our detractors
sarcastically call this my own "backyard". Thus when a challenge arose
to the leadership of this constituency in the Local Government
Elections on the 18th of May, South Africa watched with bated breath
to see whether the IFP would fall in Ulundi. If we had lost Ulundi,
our demise would have been cemented into the national psyche.

Every day I thank God that we did not lose. But today, I have come to
thank you; the voters who supported me and my Party, to ensure that
Ulundi would remain with the IFP. I am humbled by your support, for I
know it was not easy to remain unshaken by the violent storms of
treachery and deceit that rocked our Party. A new battle raged in
Ulundi in the past few years; a battle for the hearts and minds of its
people. It was a battle fought with propaganda and lies, division and
distrust, intimidation and chaos. Money flowed and people sold their
very souls for a mess of pottage

The IFP was wounded by this battle that played out in Ulundi perhaps
more than anywhere else. The NFP grasped the significance of Ulundi
and sought to strike a blow to the heart of the IFP. The NFP leader,
Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi, was our former National Chairperson and we had
elevated her to the position of Mayor of Zululand. Thus when she
campaigned in Ulundi and Nongoma, and our other local municipalities,
she boasted about all the things she had done for you, as though she
had done them in her own strength, of her own accord. She forgot all
about her favourite line of saying when addressing meetings; "I AM
SENT BY THE PRINCE. THE PRINCE HAS SENT ME TO TELL YOU THAT HE LOVES
YOU." That disappeared from her speeches and her new punch line was;
"I love you."

With sleight of hand, she put herself before you as the champion of
the people, never mentioning the fact that it was the IFP that gave
her the position. She failed to explain that she had worked through an
IFP mandate, with an IFP vision, on an IFP salary. In truth, nothing
she did for Ulundi and other local municipalities in her individual
capacity. It was done by the IFP. She carried out the policies of
the IFP. Yet she has the audacity to claim our legacy as her own. I
saw a very interesting report in ISOLEZWE on Thursday where an analyst
Mr Nhlanhla Mtaka made the same point that she and her party have no
policy of their own as she poached members from what was her own party.

The battle that was waged in Ulundi on the 18th of May started long
before the local government elections. It began when Mrs
kaMagwaza-Msibi decided that she could no longer wait to be elected as
our President, and began campaigning for the presidency through her
"Friends of VZ". In order to ensure that they had drummed up enough
support before going to an elective conference, the "Friends of VZ"
engaged in all kinds of sabotage to force the postponement of
conference.

They knew that our Constitution requires that we hold elections in all
our structures before an elective conference, and they tried to
disrupt elective meetings with fistfights, chair-throwing and swearing
matches. Elections had to be repeated in several places. They also
began setting up bogus branches to ensure that they could send their
own people to conference to support Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi's election.
All these activities were damaging to the Party, which persuaded Mrs
kaMagwaza-Msibi to distance herself from the "Friends of VZ".

Time and time again she pleaded innocence, pretending in front of all
of us that she was not seeking the presidency. If she had been honest
about her ambitions, our Constitution would have supported her, for
anyone is allowed to run for any position in our Party. There is
nothing wrong with wanting to be President. But Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi
lied to us, and she stood by while her "Friends of VZ" wrought havoc
in the IFP. Our Constitution allows anyone to openly canvass to be
elected to any position in the Party, including that of being
President of the Party.

All this is in the past. We have crossed the threshold of Local
Government Elections and the truth about the NFP has been revealed.
Ironically, they exposed their own duplicity by jumping into bed with
the ANC the moment the votes had been cast. Democracy was perverted by
the NFP in the 19 hung municipalities. If the people had wanted an ANC
government, they would have voted for the ANC. But they did not.
Nevertheless, the NFP forced an ANC coalition upon them.

I would be surprised if the NFP survives this treachery. Either it
will be swallowed up by the ANC, like so many before it, or it will
stumble under the consequences of tricking the electorate. Voters are
not easily tricked twice.

But while all this is in the past, it remains relevant in Ulundi, for
the IFP is preparing for our elective conference and some of the
treachery we saw in the past is rearing its head again. A lot is
going on just now. Most of you are aware of this.

Through the ANC-NFP coalition, Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi re-secured the
position of Mayor of Zululand. Now she is using local government
duties to go from ward to ward, promoting herself. This is in
contravention of municipal legislation which bars government officials
from using government funds to engage party political activities.
Nevertheless, she is again telling you that she is the champion of the
people. What kind of champion deceives her people?

It pains me that there are others following in her footsteps and
repeating the kind of things she did through the "Friends of VZ".
Right now, there are people canvassing for positions at our elective
conference, while denying that they are doing it. I will say again, so
that no one misunderstands me: there is nothing wrong with canvassing
for positions. As I have already said the IFP's Constitution allows it
to be done openly. But when things are done in secret and hidden
behind a façade of lies, divisions are created and tensions rise. We
cannot allow that sickness to weaken the IFP again.

There is mischief afoot, even in our National Council, with people
denying their ambitions even while they have T-shirts printed that say
"So-and-so for President". Clandestine meetings are being held and
efforts to destroy the IFP are again afoot. This might surprise some
people, for there are those who thought that the local government
elections signaled the end of the IFP. So why bother putting in so
much effort to weaken us?

They have missed the obvious. While our detractors are surprised, I am
not. I have not failed to appreciate that the election results have
restored the IFP to its position as the third largest political party
in South Africa. Across South Africa more than a million votes of
support were cast for the IFP, whether they were for an IFP councilor,
an IFP-run municipality or an IFP-led district. Voters were given two
or three ballot papers on which to make their choice, and some 1.3
million times the people chose the IFP.

We are still a force to be reckoned with; not only because of the
strength of our supporters, but because we remain an obstacle to the
ruling Party in its quest to promote a one party state and a
centralised, hegemonic government. The IFP remains the champion of
democracy, the champion of the people, and the champion of hope. For
this reason, we never stopped working for the good of our country,
even when we came under siege from within. We retained faith in our
values, our supporters and our legacy.

Through your support, we have proven that the IFP has a role to play
in the next chapter of South Africa's history. This chapter will tell
the story of democracy; whether it fails in South Africa or whether it
thrives. Much depends on the strength of the IFP to play its role. Our
role has been given to us through the mandate of the people. Through
the ballot box you have asked the IFP to take up the mantle of
opposition politics. The local government elections shed us of most of
the responsibilities of governance. We are now engaging a no-holds
barred opposition role.

But as the IFP evolves, there are those who seek to paralyze our
progress. We stand now just two months away from our elective
conference. Much remains to be done to ensure that we are ready for
the 15th of October, when our Party will take a determined stride into
its future. We have not yet ensured that all our branches are properly
established which, in some ways, leaves us in the same predicament as
we were when the "Friends of VZ" plagued us.

Here in Ulundi, in particular, I urge you to set up branches and
review their membership. Let us be sure who is representing us and
where their loyalties lie. Every member of the IFP should, at heart,
seek the best interests of the IFP. Divisions and deception have no
part in the IFP of tomorrow.

There is no rest for us now. We must keep going. I would like to see
us holding another meeting like this in the immediate future, where we
report that all our branches are set up properly and are functioning
well. Now more than ever, Ulundi has become a prototype of the IFP in
that our members from other branches will look at how Ulundi is coping
and draw inspiration or despair from this example. The battle is on in
Ulundi again. It ought to be so, Ulundi Constituency being the seat
of a sitting President of the Party

We bear the scars of the Local Government Election, but we do not
carry the wound of defeat. We are not defeated. The IFP won Ulundi,
and we won the support of South Africa as a champion of opposition
politics. The support you gave to me and to the IFP in Ulundi has
bolstered our courage. It has shown to the IFP and to South Africa
that our time is not yet over. Our work is not complete.

We will keep going in Ulundi and provide an example of honest and
competent leadership. At the same time, we will follow every move of
government across South Africa and demand that the countless wrongs
are set right. We will challenge the ruling Party to become what they
should be. And we will speak on behalf of every South African whose
voice has been ignored by leaders who care more about their own
ambition.

As we move ahead with this critical work, I am proud to have the
support of the people of Ulundi. From the depths of my heart, I thank
you.