Johnathan Paoli
THE Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says it intends to take full advantage of the legacy of its late founding president, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in order to attract more votes for the party ahead of the elections this year.
The party launched its election Manifesto on Sunday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, and said its Manifesto would reflect on Buthelezi’s role and contributions to society.
The party’s candidate for the KZN Premiership, Thami Ntuli said Buthelezi left them with a strong legacy, one party which members still resonate with, as evidenced by the number of supporters who made their way to the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“We are being supported because of the work he did; it is still resonating with the people of South Africa, the contribution he made,” Ntuli said.
The premier candidate accredited their recent successes in the province as a tribute to their founder and said they want to deliver the province for the late Buthelezi.
“We are still winning the by-elections, and we are hopeful that even going forward the kind of support, hence we are saying do it for Shenge, encouraging people to vote for the IFP in order to thank Shenge,” Ntuli said.
Buthelezi’s son Zuzifa Buthelezi as well as Phumzile Buthelezi, the chairperson of the party’s Women’s Brigade, made an appearance, joined by thousands of Amabutho, with party president Velenkosini Hlabisa delivering the IFP’s vision for South Africans for the next five years.
Hlabisa said their Manifesto will encourage those who may have lost hope in government, and that the IFP would give a message of hope and rebirth to our dreams as a nation.
“What we are calling people for these elections is that they must afford us an opportunity so that we fix South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal because we want to govern and fix the province and bring hope to the people,” Hlabisa said.
The party is the fourth-largest political party in the country and the official opposition in KwaZulu-Natal.
Meanwhile, three buses transporting IFP supporters to the organisation’s manifesto rally collided on the N2, near Gingindlovu, on Sunday, with medical rescue teams confirming that they arrived at the scene to find a number of people injured and trapped in the wreckage.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said the traffic in the area was affected around midday and urged road users to remain moving cautiously in the area.
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