INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS
9 July 2000

RESOLUTION 1: Prioritising service delivery to communities

Conference noting:

1. that true liberation entails much more than political liberation; and
2. that to millions of our people, freedom from hunger, ignorance, illness and violence remain an impossible dream;

RESOLVES:

To instruct our party and all its organs and all its representatives, to emphasise the delivery of services to the people as a top priority for the coming year

And in this regard, further RESOLVES:

1. That the top focus of any governance involving IFP public representatives in the national, provincial and especially local, spheres of government must be the improvement in the living conditions of the poorest of the poor;
2. That the delivery of services to the people must be equitable, and must prioritise the millions of rural poor hitherto neglected; and
3. That a special report be made to our next national conference, indicating specific progress made in this regard.

RESOLUTION 2: Revolution of goodwill

Conference noting:

1. the desperate need for a fundamental reappraisal of the manner in which South Africans relate to each other and take responsibility for their lives;
2. the call by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi for a revolution of goodwill as a means of bringing together those prepared to work for a better South Africa;

RESOLVES:

1. To do everything possible to popularise the concept of a Revolution of Goodwill as expounded by our President;
2. To promote a moral renaissance and regeneration of lost values among our people, especially the youth; and
3. To actively engage in programmes and activities which give expression to the revolution of goodwill.

RESOLUTION 3: The critical role of the family in developing a value-driven society

Conference recognises the appalling damage inflicted by apartheid on the social fabric of our country and to our traditional communities in particular.

RESOLVES:

1. That in our post-apartheid social and economic transformation, it is now critical that as a nation we acknowledge the pivotal role our families and communities must play in developing and entrenching the multiplicity of values which must underpin the protection of human rights, decency and democracy throughout our society;
2. To note that honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, compassion, personal pride, dignity, loyalty, hard work and a genuine caring for others less fortunate, are some of the values which must be re-nurtured in our homes and in the hearts and minds of all our citizens.
3. To note that criminal behaviour, political intimidation, lack of respect for human life and dignity, prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, the plight of street children, domestic violence, non-payment of child maintenance, systematic multi-generational poverty and the enormous drain on our social welfare system, are all examples of the dramatic impact dysfunctional families have on our society as a whole;
4. That it is long overdue that the majority of parents in South Africa take holistic charge of the cultural, spiritual, educational and general material nurturing of their children, and that the obligations and responsibilities of parenthood are undertaken in constructive, caring and disciplined family environments;
5. That parents not be permitted to abdicate their obligations and responsibilities and that society and all levels of government more strictly sanction parents who neglect their sacred duty to their children;
6. That communities and their leaders be more responsive to what is essentially a community problem and work together with teachers and others to assist families rehabilitate delinquent children.
7. That the positive influence of traditional customs be reintegrated into daily lives in both urban and rural environments, and that the enormously important role of extended family structures be rejuvenated and strengthened.

RESOLUTION 4: HIV/AIDS

Conference noting:

1. the awful incidence and rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in our country, and in KwaZulu Natal in particular;
2. the limited governmental health resources available to tackle the pandemic; and
3. the critical need to prioritise a change in behaviour, and the role of the individual, the family and the community in bringing about the required change;

RESOLVES:

1. To commit the IFP to doing everything in its power to support HIV/AIDS awareness in our communities;
2. To call on our leadership at all levels to communicate openly to our constituency with socially responsible messages;
3. To use the structures of the party to advance all preventative and educative campaigns; and
4. To encourage tolerance, empathy and support for those afflicted with HIV/AIDS rather than hostility;

And in the light of the hugely important international AIDS Conference being held in Durban from 10 July, further resolves:

1. To send a message of support to the organisers of, and delegates to, the conference; and
2. To indicate our support of the conference theme: “Break the Silence”.

RESOLUTION 5: Reconciliation

Conference noting:

1. The crucial need for peace and stability as a necessary precondition for the development of our people and of our communities disadvantaged by 45 years of apartheid, as well as by nearly 15 years of internecine conflict;
2. The powerful impetus for reconciliation that has emerged since 1994 between the top leadership of the IFP and of the ANC, especially within the national government;
3. The deeply troubling countervailing trend within KZN in which elements within the provincial ANC leadership appear to be pursuing a pre-1994 agenda; and
4. As but one instance of this agenda, the prevalence of and sharp escalation in political violence, politically motivated killings and political assassinations of IFP leaders by those associated with ANC mobilisation in Nongoma and surrounding areas;

RESOLVES

1. To call on the ANC’s national leadership to hold its KwaZulu Natal leadership to account for the badly deteriorating relationship between the provincial coalition parties;
2. To call on the ANC to reign in those within its ranks responsible for pursuing any agendas other than that agreed to by the parties nationally; and
3. To call on the ANC to ensure that its participants in the 10-a-side have as their objectives the furtherance of reconciliation rather than the furtherance of conflict;

And in response to intense provocation, further RESOLVES:

1. To call on our members not to be drawn into a cycle of violence, but to stand firm in their commitment to peace; and
2. To urge that our leadership continues to pursue the cause of reconciliation so correctly espoused by our President.

RESOLUTION 6: Community development

Taking cognisance that:

1. The IFP was conceived and born in the service of the people to meet their daily needs and their fundamental quest for upliftment;
2. For 25 years the IFP has championed developmental efforts at community level spreading its philosophy of self-help and self-reliance.

Conference RESOLVES that:

1. The IFP shall continue to lead the struggle for development, concentrating its political efforts to enable communities to better their conditions of life;
2. To establish a Development Office with the necessary staff and infrastructure, which will liaise and co-operate with relevant government departments and like-minded organisations;
3. The IFP will not run its election campaign only on the basis of slogans, but primarily through deeds of community work.
4. The culture of self-help and self-reliance now becomes more important than ever to enable communities to grow and develop in spite of the necessarily limited assistance they may receive from any level of government;
5. The place of the IFP is there where it all happens which is within our communities, the work-places and families where political work can be transformed into tangible results, and
6. The IFP has not stopped the struggle for liberation and will never accept the notion that the struggle is over because some people have achieved political power.

RESOLUTION 7: Combatting the scourge of criminality

Conference noting:

1. The scourge of crime remorselessly sweeping the country;
2. The serious effects of crime on individual victims, on communities as well as on the country as a whole;
3. The contribution of crime to negative perceptions of South Africa, particularly on potential investors; and
4. The enormity of the challenge facing the SAPS in effectively combatting crime;

RESOLVES

1. To call on all party structures, public representatives and members to play an active role in facilitating closer co-operation between the SAPS and communities;
2. To call on its members to strengthen existing community police fora, particularly those that are less than optimally functional;
3. To be the “eyes and ears” of the police in attempting to create crime-free communities;
4. To call on communities to refuse to harbour known criminals in their midst, and to facilitate their apprehension by the police;
5. To call on communities, local government and the Party to prioritise our youth, inter alia, by way of: organised sports and recreation; workshopping those particularly exposed to crime, as well as their parents; giving inspirational talks to learners at school; working with youth-oriented NGOs; and through finding an appropriate role for the youth in crime prevention programmes; and
6. To call on all South Africans to recognise that crime is not an abstract notion but dwells in the deeds and thoughts of people and that, therefore, should be fought by changing people and ensuring that the lure of criminal conduct does not impact on them.

RESOLUTION 8: Traditional leaders and the demarcation process

Conference noting:

1. The very substantial difficulties experienced by traditional leaders since the commencement of negotiations at CODESA right through to the present in having their status and role in governance properly addressed;
2. the central role played by traditional authorities in the provision of popular, participatory and accountable governance within traditional communities; and
3. the uniquely African nature of the institution of traditional leadership and the manner in which such leadership is exercised within communities in which traditional authorities are fully legitimate;

RESOLVES:

1. To reiterate the need to reconcile that which is indigenous to Africa with that which has been imported from the West;
2. To express our support for traditional leaders seeking to have their plight addressed by government; and
3. Calls on government to recognise the invaluable contribution the institution of traditional leadership plays, particularly at the local level, in providing quality governance.

RESOLUTION 9: The President of the IFP

Conference noting:

1. The enormous domestic and international political stature of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi;
2. The giant contribution made by the President of the IFP to the political liberation of South Africa;
3. The humanity of the IFP President, particularly in respect of the poorest of the poor who have always been his first priority;

RESOLVES to thank Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi for:

1. The sterling and frequently ground-breaking political leadership role he has played over his entire adult life;
2. The farsightedness he displayed in forming Inkatha yeNkululeko yeSizwe in 1975 to advance the struggle for emancipation of all the oppressed in South Africa;
3. The selflessness, toughness and wisdom characterising his leadership of the cultural liberation movement and from 1991, its successor, the Inkatha Freedom Party; and
4. His dedication in government over the past 25 years to serving the people, first as Chief Minister of KwaZulu and then as Minister of Home Affairs in the national government;

And wishes furthermore,

1. To congratulate Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi on once again being elected President of Inkatha Freedom Party; and
2. To extend to him our heartfelt hopes of a long life, good health and personal happiness.