Message Of Condolence By
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP
President Of The Inkatha Freedom Party
Durban Manor
Tomorrow Mr Ken Worthington will be laid to rest. As we stand in this building, we will say our final farewells and pray for strength for the days ahead. But even before we do so, I felt it important that we gather as the IFP family to honour Mr Worthington for all he meant to this organisation. We asked Mrs Worthington and their children to join us, for we wanted them to know how highly we esteemed this husband and father who gave so much of himself in the service of work.
Mr Worthington, who was affectionately called Mr Ken in the finance office, was a remarkable human being. He understood the intricacies of balance sheets and financial statements, but his head for figures was married to a vision for the party he served. He knew that it was not all about numbers, but about how those numbers translated into the wellbeing of the IFP.
I had the utmost respect for his intellect and integrity. If Mr Worthington said there was a problem, I listened, because I knew that he had already thought of a possible solution. He was not afraid to take difficult decisions, and at times his position and the circumstances of the Party demanded that he say and do things that would not sit well with everyone. But I doubt that anyone ever questioned his judgement, because we knew that he was wholly committed to the best interests of the Party.
Over the course of twenty three years, this Party became the fulcrum of Mr Worthington’s life. To say that he was committed is an understatement. Up until the day he went into hospital for this last operation, he was diligently working. As a fellow octogenarian I can attest that at this age we don’t work because we’re saving for retirement. Mr Worthington worked because he loved the Party and the people in it.
By job description he was here to look after the Party’s money. But because of his nature he took care of the Party’s people. Those who worked closely with him considered him a mentor and a father, rather than a boss. We all knew how much he carried, and his office did their utmost to support him. He was one of those rare individuals who generate immediate respect, because their integrity is somehow visible.
I want to honour Mr Worthington for the way he encouraged people, helping them to grow and pushing them to discover their own strengths. I think of Ms Pinkie Ngcobo who joined Head Office fifteen years ago with a matric certificate and a willingness to work. Every day Mr Worthington urged her to register for courses and to get her driver’s licence. Today she not only drives, but is qualified in Financial Management, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Computers, and Pastel Accounting. All of that is testament to Mr Worthington’s ability to grow people in their strengths.
He himself joined our team at a pivotal moment, just as we stepped into a new role. In 1994 the IFP was thrust into the thick of governance, having won KwaZulu Natal. We were sending MPs to Parliament and MPLs to the Legislature. We were on a steep learning curve, because although we had administered government to a limited number of people under an apartheid regime, we were now fully responsible for serving the needs and interests of every citizen.
The Party’s Head Office needed exceptional skills, and the Lord sent us Mr Ken Worthington. In the years that followed, staff came and went, but Mr Worthington remained. Indeed, every member of staff working in Head Office now went through his door when they arrived with us, and he had an impact on all their lives.
He worked with each successive Treasurer General, from Mr Arthur Konigkramer to Mr Alex Hamilton to Mr Narend Singh, performing the delicate balancing act that kept us solvent all these years. Never once did we go into an election with no money; and that is a remarkable thing for an organisation that relies so heavily on a small membership fee.
I must say that even though he had to work million-Rand miracles to fight election campaigns, he didn’t hold back money from small community projects, like food gardens. He would scrape the money together from somewhere if our members needed it, because he believed wholeheartedly in the Party’s principles of self-help and self-reliance. He understood the big picture, but he looked at the individual. He wanted to make a real and immediate difference in people’s circumstances.
Politics is a difficult place to work. Although he was in finance, all of Mr Worthington’s work was imbued in politics. In an arena where things are never straightforward and people often play games, Mr Worthington thrived. Not because he was a political animal, but because he cut through all the nonsense. People knew where they stood with him. They knew they would get a straight answer and an honest account.
It’s not surprising that he worked so well with our former General Secretary of Administration, Mr MZ Khumalo, and that they became good friends. They are cut from the same cloth. I can tell you that it’s a blessing, in this line of work, to have people one can trust in positions of such great responsibility. The Party will miss Mr Worthington. We have suffered an organisational loss, but also a loss to our store of friends.
As much as we are grieved, however, we recognise that the greatest sorrow is reserved for his family. We reach out in support to Mrs Ailsa Worthington, to Gale, Andrew, Russell, Gregory and David. May you and your families experience the extraordinary peace that only the Lord can provide.
Please know that the IFP will always honour the name of Ken Worthington. We are deeply grateful for all he did and all he gave. We are grateful for the sacrifices you made, as well, for there are always sacrifices when one lives with someone so committed to a cause.
The IFP will grieve alongside you. We will mourn this loss, for no one can replace the unique kindness that Mr Worthington brought to our lives.
May he now forever rest in peace.
