The IFP wrapped up its month-long election campaign in KwaZulu-Natal late on Wednesday with a call to break the ANC’s control of the Durban metro.
Addressing several hundred supporters who turned up despite the wet weather at Curries Fountain, the sport stadium steeped in rich struggle history, IFP deputy president Mzamo Buthelezi called on party supporters not to be swayed by the “false promises” of other political parties.
He urged them to take control of the metro by coming out to vote for the party, and said the IFP was the only party that could find solutions for the problems faced by its members and their communities. It presented its councillor candidates for the highly contested eThekwini metro at the event.
“I say to you, bear in mind that those who come to you and your families and promise you this and that and service delivery, and how they going to bring change and other things to you and your families, are telling blatant lies.
“The truth is this they don’t care about you or anything you said and take you as one of their own, or treat you with the dignity that you deserve,” said Buthelezi.
He appealed to supporters to use their “power” to vote out what he called “the corrupt leaders” who brought the metro to its knees. He said the promises of empowerment, service delivery and job opportunities had not been delivered on. There was a failure to tackle corruption and other irregularities including with tenders. The metro was now rife with “disunity and disruption”.
Buthelezi said the IFP had shown leadership in the province. “The IFP is a consistent force, a force to be reckoned with, a force for good, a force of values.”
On Thursday, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa and party president emeritus Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi will hold the final election rally in the IFP stronghold of Ulundi in northern Zululand.
“We do not view campaigning as an event, but rather a process, which we began in 2016, after the last local government elections. The IFP continued to strengthen and build upon its track record of good governance, and the voters responded in 2019, when our growth in KwaZulu-Natal saw the IFP becoming the official opposition,” said spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
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