The leadership of the IFP comes to Ezinqoleni today because we want to talk to
you about your future, and how you can bring change through your own decisions
and your own action. We are here to tell you that the power is yours. The power
to fix service delivery. The power to make your representatives listen. And the
power to get things working the way they should, from jobs, to education, to
healthcare and land reform.

In December 2012, the IFP's national conference elected me as Deputy President
of the IFP. I have served through the IFP for many years, and I firmly believe
in what the IFP stands for. As a traditional leader, I appreciate the value that
the IFP places on promoting cultural heritage and empowering local communities
to govern themselves effectively. That is true democracy in action.

But the greatest expression of democracy is always an election. In just seven
weeks' time, on the 7th of May 2014, South Africa will hold its fifth democratic
elections, and you will have the chance to go to your voting station and cast
your vote. When you vote, you shape and own your own future. The IFP wants to
help you make that future the one you deserve.

We therefore encourage you to ask yourself three questions: Are your
representatives capable of fulfilling their duties and their promises? Have they
represented your interests with honesty and integrity? And have they responded
to the issues that affect your family?

The IFP knows Ezinqoleni. We have served this community for decades, both before
liberation and in the first years of democracy. We ran the local municipality
and we laid a good foundation for development and growth.

But the ruling party has failed to build on that foundation. They have been at
the helm in Ezinqoleni since the 2011 Local Government Elections. Within their
first year, the Ezinqoleni Municipality raked up almost R4million worth of
unauthorized, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

This happens in municipalities across South Africa that are run by the ruling
party.

Service delivery is in crisis and South Africans have lost faith that national,
provincial and local government can perform even the most basic of functions. In
many places, water services have collapsed because existing infrastructure has
not been maintained, nor has new infrastructure been developed to meet the
growing needs. In some places, there is no water at all.

In places like Ezinqoleni, people's health is threatened and your dignity
affronted because the pit toilet system persists. Why, twenty years into
democracy, do only 5% of households in Ezinqoleni have flushing toilets linked
to a sewerage system or septic tanks? This is unacceptable. How does Government
account for failing you on this? The answer is: they don't. They don't offer you
any answers.

While this Municipality wastes money, it also fails to spend the money it does
have, which accounts for the fact that a simple service like refuse removal is
practically non-existent in Ezinqoleni. Some homes have electricity and some
have piped water. But what about the many who don't have these basic
necessities?

In many municipalities, we have seen that those responsible for delivering
essential services are not qualified, and municipalities rely on overpaid
consultants to do their jobs. Only card-carrying members of a particular party
are hired and promoted. Financial mismanagement and incompetence create
opportunities for corruption and fraud. Indeed, too many councillors and
officials are dishonest and simply don't care about communities.

The IFP understands these problems and we have solutions. We know how to get
things working the way they should. We believe that all South Africans deserve
accountable delivery, not empty promises. For the IFP, it has and always will be
our duty as your representatives to serve you.

But we can only do this with your mandate, given through the ballot box. Thus
the IFP is making a commitment to you about what a vote for the IFP will mean.

The IFP will professionalise how Ezingoleni Municipality is managed. This means
employing qualified people who have the political will and experience to plan
infrastructure and schedule regular maintenance on existing facilities.

We believe in delivering free basic services to all in need; regular community
meetings to give status updates and to listen to residents' concerns; and
publicly accounting for all monies. The IFP holds municipal managers to their
targets, by tracking their progress with regular site visits and spot
inspections.

We know that actions speak louder than words. Like you, the IFP wants to see
action. This is why we will implement the law without fear or favour, and take
quick action against those who do not deliver. We will employ competent and
experienced people and offer on-the-job training to those who need it. We will
assess and reward senior managers based on their performance, and not their
excuses.

We will take politics out of service delivery. You have the right to clean,
drinkable water, dignified toilet facilities, shelter and electricity, no matter
who you vote for or where you live. The IFP has a zero tolerance policy on
corruption, prosecuting those accused of corruption and ensuring that, if
guilty, they serve their full sentences.

The IFP will do all this in partnership with the community, because that is how
we have always operated. It is how we managed to build 6000 schools in KwaZulu
under the meagre budget of an apartheid Government. It is how we built clinics
and roads, started cooperatives and vegetable gardens, trained women and
provided seed capital to entrepreneurs.

We know how to do a lot with very little. We have proven ourselves to be good
stewards over municipal finances. Through your vote, the IFP can become a
watchdog with big teeth in Ezinqoleni Municipality, ensuring that the ruling
party doesn't run rough shod over your needs, ignoring your voice.

This is not a role that the NFP can play. Shortly after they were formed in
2011, they went into coalition with the ruling Party in 19 municipalities across
KwaZulu Natal. Because of this, they are hamstrung to hold their coalition
partner accountable or call them to task when things go wrong. They cannot offer
an effective opposition, because they're more concerned about pleasing the
ruling party than pleasing the people they are meant to serve.

I must therefore warn you to consider your vote carefully.

The IFP is the custodian of the values of freedom, democracy and progress. I
often remind people that it was the IFP that brought the now ruling party to the
negotiating table before 1994. When former President FW de Klerk announced in
Parliament his decision to release Mandela and other political prisoners, and
unban political parties, he mentioned only one person as having convinced him to
do that. Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

The IFP's President refused bilateral negotiations with the National Party and
demanded that all stakeholders be enabled to come to the negotiating table. When
Mr de Klerk appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he admitted
that Prince Buthelezi's refusal to accept independence for KwaZulu was the anvil
upon which apartheid was finally crushed.

Having done so much to secure democracy, the IFP is determined to protect South
Africa's freedoms and take them forward. We look at twenty years under the
present Government and recognise that South Africa should be much further on the
path towards prosperity, stability and real freedom. The truth is, you deserve
better. You deserve more.

It is the duty of Government to ensure that every South African can access
quality services wherever they live. It is also Government's duty to tell you
the truth, but so often that does not happen.

This week the Public Protector released her report on the so-called security
upgrades at the President's private home in Nkandla. They cost the country R250
million. They included a swimming pool, a sports field and a tuck shop. How are
these security features? Government was in quite a state when we found out about
all this. They quickly said that the swimming pool was in fact a "fire pool" in
case there was a fire.

But the Public Protector's Report has now laid to rest the question of who was
lying and who was telling the truth. It is evident that the President himself
misled Parliament and misled our nation.

Will we allow South Africa to be led by people who lie to us? On the 7th of May,
the power to impeach the President will be placed in the hands of the voters.
Don't forget Nkandla. Don't let this be swept under the carpet. Hold the ruling
party accountable.

There is another lie they might tell you when they come to Ezinqoleni in the
next few weeks, asking for your vote. They might say that unemployment has
decreased in the past ten years in Ezinqoleni. But so has the population. And
the number of households led by women has increased, which means that those who
are able to get jobs are not getting them in Ezinqoleni. They are having to
leave their homes and their families, and go away to earn a living.

This is not good for Ezinqoleni. It is also not good for the more than 5000
young people here who are unemployed, or discouraged after looking for work for
so long, without success. You should not have to leave, believing things will be
better elsewhere. You should be able to start a business here. Work here. Live
here.

The IFP wants to partner with you to create a future that is far better than the
present. We are listening and we have your best interests at heart. I hope you
will talk to us in the next seven weeks, and continue that dialogue in the five
years we serve you after May the 7th. I encourage you to speak to the IFP
through our dedicated sms number and share with us what you think about our
country, the elections, the IFP, or anything that's on your mind. Just sms the
word TALK and your comment to 49199. It costs just R1,50, and we are listening.

I also encourage you to get talking in your own family, your neighbourhood and
wherever you go, about the difference the IFP can make to Ezinqoleni. The IFP is
telling you the truth, and asking you to tell others. The truth is: the power is
yours. The power to defend democracy is in your hands. The power to change South
Africa's leadership is in your hands. The power to hold accountable those who
are failing is in the hands of the electorate. Make good use of your vote in
2014. Vote for the IFP.

As we prepare for these elections, we are ready to help anyone who needs to get
to a voting station on May the 7th and hasn't got transport. We want you to get
out there and vote, and we'll help you if you need help. Speak to one our
leaders or get in touch with our head office, and put your name down for
transport on May the 7th.

The greater the number of people who vote, the louder your voice will be as you
call for change in Ezinqoleni. Make your mark for an IFP leadership. The power
is yours.