Buthelezi goes into election mode

WHILE the resignation of Jacob Zuma has opened the way for change in the country, it remains to be seen whether the ruling ANC will be able to rid itself of deep-seated corruption.

That was one of the questions IFP President Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi asked during a door-to-door mobilisation programme in KwaMashu last weekend.

Buthelezi said he would like to see whether government will actually be transformed to now work for the people and reverse the crippling damage that has been dealt to the country’s economy.

ALSO READ: Local ANC says Zuma still has a role to play

He warned party members not to be fooled by the unprecedented events of the past weeks, which he said have filled ‘our hearts with hope, just when we thought that there was nothing left to hope for.’

He said the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as President makes little difference.

‘Even though the ruling party has chosen a different leader, it is still the ANC. It has set its policies in stone and whoever leads the party will have to toe the line.

Zuma was just one man. It is the policies of the ruling party that we have to fight against, because they are not all in the best interests of South Africans,’ he said.

Buthelezi was accompanied by the nominated candidate for party presidency Velenkosini Hlabisa, who is also the Mayor of the Big Five/Hlabisa Municipality.

Election

The event was also used to mobilise support for the 2019 general election.

‘There is very little time left before the elections. Already political parties are in campaign mode, making all sorts of promises they don’t intend to keep.

‘We have taken votes away from the ANC. We have beaten our opponents and now stand as the strongest opposition in KZN.

‘Many say that the IFP will take back this province in 2019. Will that happen? Only we can create that future.

‘It is in our hands to restore a leadership of integrity in KZN,’ he said.

But Buthelezi expressed concern about bogus branches within the IFP whose mission it is to manipulate the outcome of the party’s conference.

‘These bogus branches pretend to elect a delegate to he conference so that they can influence and sway the votes. They want to cause disruption.

‘It is for this reason that the holding of conferences was delayed, for we refuse to go into conferences where the outcome is open to manipulation.

‘We believe that our members should choose the leaders who will take the IFP forward.

‘Time is no longer on our side. We will have to move with speed if we want to be ready for 2019,’ he said.

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