Annual General Conference – 04 September 2005

30th ANNUAL CONFERENCE of the INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
ON THE THEME “IFP’S MORAL LEADERSHIP TO RESCUE OUR BETRAYED LIBERATION”

Ulundi September 2-4, 2005

RESOLUTIONS

The Annual General Conference of the Inkatha Freedom Party met in Ulundi on this 3rd day of September and unanimously adopted the following

RESOLUTION 1: PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI – THE LEADER

Conference:

Reflecting on 30 years of the distinguished and inspiring leadership of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and the role he has played in South Africa’s transitional democracy, the region and the wider world:

Resolves:

1. To express our gratitude and love to our President for all that he has done on our behalf and his political commitment to the attainment of democracy, and the freedom of all our disparate peoples from racism, sexism, physical and spiritual poverty, disease and despair;

2. To applaud the President’s passion as the champion of rural development and for the material difference he has made to the communities of our nation;

3. To implore our President to continue his great work; and

4. To vigorously support our President’s leadership and transformation of the IFP.

RESOLUTION 2: FLOOR-CROSSING AND DEMOCRACY

Conference:

Noting that the floor-crossing legislation is the most undemocratic piece of legislation since 1994, is immoral, and is a travesty of the sovereignty of the people who cast their votes in last year’s General Election; and that all MPs and MPPs were elected through a strict proportional representation list system in which voters vote for political parties and not individuals;

Resolves:

1. To condemn this pernicious legislation which subverts the democratic will of the people;

2. To call upon the government to repeal this legislation forthwith; and

3. To express total dismay at the reported financial incentives and other lures allegedly utilised to entice members to cross the floor.

RESOLUTION 3: IFP PERFORMANCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Conference:

Noting that the report “Track Record of IFP-governed Municipalities and Challenges That Lie Ahead”, presented by Professor CT Msimang, the Chairperson of the Political Oversight Committee, contains important strategic guidance for the IFP’s performance in local government,

Resolves:

1. That the IFP controlled municipalities/or districts that did not forward their reports be investigated and remedial action be taken;

2. That the IFP must not return to office councillors who have not performed to the satisfaction of our constituents and/or who have brought the party into disrepute through acts of corruption;

3. That constituencies identify where councils have performed well or poorly over the past five years and direct that the new leaders do not repeat mistakes but rather replicate success stories;

4. That extraordinary efforts are made to regain every single ward that the IFP has lost in by-elections over the past five years;

5. That the IFP-led councils make every effort to communicate to their constituents their record of service delivery over the past five years;

6. That all IFP councillors reaffirm their total commitment to clean governance and fully support all efforts by the party to ensure that good governance prevails including adhering to the party’s Code of Conduct and Ethics;

7. That the forthcoming Local Government Elections be used as a springboard to regain control of KwaZulu-Natal at the earliest opportunity;

8. That the control of some districts/municipalities has been lost as a result of IFP members crossing the floor to the ANC in particular and that in choosing candidates for the forthcoming elections, loyalty to the party must be a sin qua non; and

9. That party structures ensure that all elected councillors, either ward or PR, attend all meetings of the structures in a ward/district.

RESOLUTION 4: GETTING READY FOR ELECTIONS

Conference:

Noting that the report by the National Organiser, Mr AM Mncwango, contains vital strategic guidance to ensure that the party structures are in a state of optimal readiness for the forthcoming Local Government Elections:

Resolves:

1. That branches be formed in all municipal wards in KwaZulu-Natal;

2. That branches in other provinces be created to extend the IFP footprint throughout South Africa;

3. That the nomination of candidates for the forthcoming Local Government Elections be done from within the elected branch structures;

4. That branches ensure that the candidates, whom they elect, are people who will best advance the interest of the ward they will represent as well as the interest of the party and that personal conflicts be not tolerated amongst IFP members;

5. That if there are areas, in which no branch structure has been elected, the responsibility to nominate a candidate shall pass on to an ad-hoc committee elected for that purpose;

6. That all IFP members make themselves available as volunteers to assist the party in the elections, either as party agents or to perform any other specific task to further the interests of the candidate/party in any ward or district;

7. That structures ensure that there is not one single voting station without well-trained, competent and fearless IFP party agents and that they plan to ensure this happens;

8. That IFP members of Party Liaison Committees in all municipalities ensure that electoral officers who are appointed are not politically aligned to any party, ensure there is no bias and if there is evidence of bias, ensure that the PLC members actively support the removal of such officers;

9. That party agent be extremely vigilant and aware of the fact that some voters vote twice because they are bussed from one ward/municipality to another; and

10. That Conference expresses appreciation to our leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, for being personally present to inaugurate branches in many districts as well as for his words and encouragement and continued support in leadership.

RESOLUTION 5: CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Conference:

Noting the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Inkatha Freedom Party presented on Saturday, 3 September 2005 by the Chairperson of the IFP Constitutional Review Committee, Reverend KM Zondi.

Resolves:

1. To adopt them.

RESOLUTION 6: TACKLING STUBBORN CHALLENGES

Conference:

Noting that since 1994 the South African economy has shed over a million jobs, that unemployment spells misery for millions of South Africans, and that the ANC’s alliance partners, COSATU and SACP, have consistently sabotaged much-needed labour market reform:

Resolves:

1. That the IFP, who are the moral leaders of the employment generation, turns up the heat on government to adopt its comprehensive policies to jumpstart economic development, including the green revolution, faster privatisation, deregulation, a plan of industrial development, a sensible package of incentives to attract foreign investment, and the lifting of the remaining exchange controls.

RESOLUTION 7: WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION FOR OUR CHILDREN

Conference:

Noting that education is the best investment the civilised society can make in its future, and that South African education system has steadily collapsed under the pressure of an ideologically-driven transformation agenda:

Resolves:

1. To condemn the government for betraying our liberation and denying our children the opportunity to participate fully in the global knowledge-based economy;

2. To call upon government to reassess their approach and, in particular, ensure that our children receive basic education free of ideology and rewritten history; and

3. To call upon commerce and industry, Telkom and the other communications companies to co-operate with the state to ensure that every child is linked to the internet in school; believing that this would benefit all role players by expending knowledge and skills as an investment into our common future.

RESOLUTION 8: NOVEL APPROACH TO HIV/AIDS

Conference:

Noting that the HIV/Aids pandemic has imposed on South Africans the massive burden of the world’s number one killer-disease and given South Africa the disastrous reputation of the country with the single largest number of infected people, and that the South African government stubbornly breaks its own laws by ignoring the constitutionally-mandated right to health and not implementing the 2001 executive’s decision to roll out anti-retrovirals:

Resolves:

1. To appeal to the government’s conscience and to attend to this emergency at once;

2. To urge the IFP members of parliament, party officials and activists to use every available forum to raise awareness around HIV/Aids and to use the party’s muscle to apply pressure for a change in policy; and

3. To encourage contacts with a range of HIV/Aids foundations, pressure groups and related organisations to develop an alternative strategy to the present failing one to combat HIV/Aids.

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