POLITRICKING | ‘We have reached a level of tolerance’ – IFP’s Hlabisa on KZN and the ANC
In this week’s episode of 'Politricking with Tshidi Madia', we speak to IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa, who assured of KZN’s maturation and not needing to worry about violence ahead of the 29 May elections.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa addresses supporters during the IFP election manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on March 10, 2024. Picture: RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa has poured cold water on concerns that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) might be swept in a wave of elections violence in the coming weeks.
Hlabisa, while speaking on Politricking with Tshidi Madia, a politics podcast by Eyewitness News, said despite unresolved issues over violent tensions of the late 1980s and the early 1990s between his party and the African National Congress (ANC), the two organisations’ supporters had found a way to co-exist.
“You will find ANC and IFP members singing, dancing for one song, sometimes an ANC song, you will find IFP dancing to that song, not necessarily listening to the message or lyrics, sometimes ANC dancing to the IFP song. We have reached a level of tolerance,” he said.
The IFP leader said while there were isolated incidents, there is stability in the province.
KZN has the second highest number of registered voters, after Gauteng, making it one of the major flashpoints during the fast-approaching polls.
The ANC, which is currently in charge of the province, has taken to the ground in a bid to retain its majority. However, party like the IFP that has won several by-elections in recent months believes it’s now on a resurgence, and could possibly find its way back in charge of the province.
“The IFP is doing all it takes that we perform well throughout South Africa, and be a major bloc in the new government in South Africa after 29 May,” said Hlabisa.
This is despite the view of some in KZN that his party is not performing as well as it should, due to claims of infighting between Hlabisa and the KZN premier candidate Thami Ntuli.
Hlabisa also dismissed the idea of him being picked as the premier candidate in KZN, saying as a national leader, his task was to not confine the organisation to a particular region, but to raise its profile across the country.
He said focusing solely on KZN would further feed already existing propaganda that theirs was a Zulu nationalist party.
The IFP leader also claims the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which was launched at the end of last year by former ANC president Jacob Zuma, isn’t a threat to his organisation.
“Umkhonto weSizwe are members of the ANC who are not happy about how things are in the ANC,” said Hlabisa.
He said his organisation had no issues or tensions with Zuma’s outfit. However, recent by-elections in which the MK Party contested, made it clear its existence was impacting all organisations, and not just the governing ANC.
The advent of the MK Party came with mixed messages, with some claiming to belong to the organisation threatening mayhem if Zuma did not find his way back in the Union Buildings. All the while some donning MK colours sought to distance the organisation from such assertions.
Hlabisa dismissed those threatening to fight if the elections did not go their way.
“I know a person can say whatever he or she likes during the election time, which we caution against [the] reckless statement [and] should not be done. But the truth is, you cannot stand against the will of the people. Once the people have spoken… [their will] shall be done,” he said.