Cape Town-130822-IFP President, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi & Chairman Len Swimmer, delivers a keynote address at the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance Annual General Meeting, under the theme "Crunch time as we see the Democratic Space CLOSING DOWN". The meeting was held at the LOFOB Hall in Grassy Park. Reporter: Bianca, Photo: Ross Jansen Cape Town-130822-IFP President, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi & Chairman Len Swimmer, delivers a keynote address at the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance Annual General Meeting, under the theme "Crunch time as we see the Democratic Space CLOSING DOWN". The meeting was held at the LOFOB Hall in Grassy Park. Reporter: Bianca, Photo: Ross Jansen
Johannesburg - The ANC has dismissed IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi as an autocratic leader who is blaming it for his party’s fading political fortunes.
National spokesman Jackson Mthembu said Buthelezi must deal honestly with his party’s “non-democratic tendencies”, lack of transformation and oppression of members rather than blaming the ruling party for its decline.
This follows a radio interview in which Buthelezi accused the ANC of having funded disgruntled members of his party to destabilise the IFP from within by forming splinter organisations.
In an interview with Metro FM’s Sakina Kamwendo last week, Buthelezi said his party was a victim of an ANC programme to undermine multiparty democracy.
Mthembu said Buthelezi could not prove his claims because the ANC never bankrolled IFP members, “and it will never happen”.
“People are saying it’s because of the non-democratic tendencies in the IFP. That’s the buzzword that the IFP is failing to transform into a democratic party.
“That’s why people are leaving it. The buzzword is that the IFP is a bit autocratic… from the top leadership. People feel they are being oppressed,” Mthembu said.
He said if the ANC had wanted to destabilise the IFP, it would simply recruit its members rather than bankroll them to join or form other parties.
Buthelezi had singled out former human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale as one of the funders.
“All the people who have tried to split the party created the image that we were declining and those people were financed by the ANC… private meetings and… support by billionaires in the ANC like Mr Sexwale,” Buthelezi said.
Sexwale did not respond to written questions for comment.
Buthelezi also blamed the wave of service delivery protests on the unrealistic “milk and honey” promised by the ANC ahead of next year’s elections.
He said he had lost hope in the direction taken by the current administration, led by President Jacob Zuma, “because corruption has destroyed this country”.
piet.rampedi@inl.co.za
The Star