By Velenkosini Hlabisa MPL
President of the IFP and Minsiter of COGTA
City Hall: Durban
Members of the National Executive Committee (NEC);
Members of the National Council, the highest decision making body in-between conferences
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson of the IFP – Hon AT Ntuli, MPL who is also Premier of this province;
The Gauteng Provincial Chairperson of the IFP – Hon Bonginkosi Dhlamini, MPL who is also the MEC for e-Government in Gauteng
Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MECs;
AmaKhosi aseNdlunkulu
Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Speakers
Councillors
Members of the IFP
Members of the media present
It is indeed a great honour for me as the President of the Inkatha Freedom Party to stand on the steps of Durban’s City Hall this afternoon, to officially launch the IFP’s 50th celebrations, a year-long program that will celebrate the immeasurable role and contribution made by the IFP in the history of our country to date, the legacy of our Founder and President Emeritus, the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and the watershed moments that have proven the strength, resilience, value and tenacity of the IFP.
Despite having been written off on countless occasions since 1975, the IFP has continued to grow from strength to strength over the past five decades. The IFP’s role in the liberation of South Africa, and our role in building a post-democratic South Africa is undeniable.
Founded on 21 March 1975 as the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement (INCLM), or Inkatha yeNkulukelo yeSizwe, by our Founder, Prince Buthelezi, the IFP was formed to reignite the struggle for liberation within South Africa following the banning of the ANC and other parties.
Inkatha quickly grew into a formidable liberation organisation, home to the oppressed masses within South Africa, and hope to many.
Through Inkatha, Prince Buthelezi campaigned endlessly for the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and for an end to apartheid through negotiations. Through his rejection of violence, and nominal “independence” for KwaZulu, uMntwana waKwaPhindangene and the IFP derailed the grand scheme of apartheid to balkanise South Africa.
Following the first democratic elections in April 1994, the IFP became part of the Government of National Unity and contributed to laying the foundation for sustainable democracy of our country.
The journey of the IFP over the past 50 years has been a remarkable one for our nation and our Party. Today, the IFP finds itself in Government again as part of the GNU and GPUs and leading Government here in KwaZulu-Natal.
We therefore have good reason to be proud, and many reasons to celebrate.
Against all odds the IFP is strong.
Throughout 2025, we will focus on the legacy of the IFP and the role of the IFP in shaping the history and future of our country, South Africa.
This legacy has been built over five decades, through the individual contributions of millions of South Africans, coming together around a shared vision of unity, solidarity and freedom.
Our legacy was built with the hands, sweat, blood and voices of generations that came before us, and it will be built with the hands and voices of this generation, and the next.
It is against this background that we will remember and celebrate the icons of our movement. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
In a long year celebrations of the 50th anniversary, we will remember the roles and contributions made by patriotic men and women of great calibre.
From its very foundation, the IFP has been home to people of goodwill, drawing us together under a common banner of all those who seek peace, prosperity, justice and freedom. Our Party was created to serve the needs and aspirations of all those who love South Africa, who seek its best interests and who long to build South Africa and put its people first.
Throughout the year we will mark this significant milestone in the life of the IFP with rallies, prayers and community engagements. Our 50th celebrations will take the form of many activities.
I can announce today that on the 21st of March 2025, on the IFP’s birthday, the Party will host a Thanksgiving Prayer Service to be held at KwaNzimela, the IFP’s birthplace. This will be preceded by a wreath laying ceremony at the tombstone of Bishop Zulu.
This will be followed by a birthday rally on the 23rd of March 2025 in Ulundi at the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Stadium. During the months of April and May we will host District celebrations rallies in KZN.
During the month of June and August, the 50th Anniversary celebrations will shift its focus to the Youth and Women’s Brigades and the role they have played in contributing to a vibrant IFP.
The NEC has declared the 27th of August 2025, the birthday of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and every 27 August going forward, as Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Day where all structures of the Party will embark on community activities in-line with the example of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi of servant leadership, and his lifelong focus on self-help and self-reliance. Some of the projects members will embark on are tree planting, supporting NGOs, cultivating community gardens, and working with cooperatives.
On 05 July 2025 the Party will host a rally at INgwavuma to commemorate the intervention of uMntwana waKwaPhindangene, which ensured that the residents of that area kept their South African citizenship because the apartheid government had decided to cede INgwavuma to Eswatini.
The KwaZulu Government challenged this decision at the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein, where on the 5th July 1982 the Appeal Court ruled in favour of the KwaZulu Government.
District Rallies will be held in Gauteng Province during the month of July and September 2025, which will culminate in a wreath laying ceremony in Thokoza to remember those who died so tragically through black-on-black violence. The Party will also hold a 50th-year Anniversary Celebrations Rally at the Jabulani Amphitheatre in Soweto.
In October and November, the IFP will host a meeting of its stalwarts and we will unveil a remembrance plaque on the premises of the Ulundi IFP office, to remember those who lost their lives in service and defence of the IFP, and our country.
With all these events, we are retracing our steps of 50 years as a spring board taking us into the future.
The purpose of today’s launch therefore is to extend an invitation to you the media, and to invite South Africans at large, to be a part of these celebrations throughout the year.
Friends, the IFP has remarkable legacy, so too we have a remarkable future. The future of the IFP is bright and in decades ahead, it will be counted amongst those who led from the front in rebuilding our country, we will be counted amongst those that restored hope and good governance.
I am proud to the lead the IFP that has never abandoned its rich principles of servant leadership. These principles have proven effective in the struggle against all forms of oppression, hardship and adversity. They will be effective in the battles to come.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IFP, we will have the opportunity to remember the reason we started, the purpose for which we persevered, and the significance of our continued presence on the political landscape.
Before I conclude, I want to respond on matters that are on the public domain.
Our 50 years comes at a time of great reckoning for our country, where important pillars of our Party are under siege.
The decision by the Prudential Authority to file for the liquidation of Ithala Bank SOC is ill-advised and a travesty of justice and access for our people.
The IFP strongly objects to this decision and we will stop at nothing to defend Ithala Bank, because Ithala Bank is the backbone of the black economy.
Both tomorrow and Thursday 28 and 30 January we will go in force to the High Court in Pietermaritzburg to support KwaZulu-Natal government against the Prudential Authority in liquidating Ithala Bank State-Owned Company.
We will not allow Ithala Bank to suffer the same fate as VBS and African Bank.
It is clear that there is a strategic and deliberate effort to consolidate the major banks by collapsing black banks.
We will take to streets in defence of Ithala Bank.
Furthermore, the IFP rejects the decision of the President of the Country to sign the Expropriation Bill in law without engaging the GNU partners especially who did not support the bill during the Sixth Administration. This decision undermines the spirit of consensus and collaboration of the GNU.
The reality is, during the 7th Administration, the President no longer holds a majority of one political party, and therefore he must exercise the functions of his office cognisant of the fact that he must consult.
As the IFP, we have consistently maintained our principled opposition to the current version of the Expropriation Bill. While we support meaningful land reform that is just, equitable and aimed at addressing historical injustices, the Expropriation Bill falls short of these principles.
This Bill is on collision course with Ingonyama Trust, and this reality hardens our opposition to the Bill.
I want to thank you, the members and supporters of the IFP, for walking this road with us with such courage, commitment and perseverance. We look forward to celebrating our great milestone with all of you.
I thank you.
