IFP President and Cogta Minister Belenkosini Hlavisa. (Des Erasmus/M&G)
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) will not go to court over policy disputes or withdraw from the Government of National Unity (GNU), but will address issues through mechanisms set up at the ministerial level to deal with them.
Belenkosini Hlavisa said on Monday that the party will continue to maintain its identity and defend its important causes, continuing to serve as the GNU's “spokes of reason”.
Speaking at a party press conference during the first 100 days of the 10-party coalition government, Hlavisa said the IFP welcomed the creation of a clearinghouse that would help break the deadlock over the National Health Insurance (NHI) and the amendments to the Fundamental Law of Education. ta (bela) act.
Mr Hlavisa serves as Minister of Co-operation, Governance and Traditional Affairs in President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet as part of a deal that gives IFP two cabinet ministers and two deputy ministers. The IFP is leading a unity government in KwaZulu-Natal, and in return the ANC has been given three seats in the cabinet.
“We have to create an opportunity within GNU to start a policy dialogue.”
It is about proposing what we are fundamentally different from and finding common ground and solutions,” Hlavisa said. “We therefore welcome the establishment of a GNU clearinghouse that will address policy disagreements.”
Mr. Hlavisa said that while IFP believes in universal health coverage, “the current state of our aging health system will not allow for the successful rollout of this system.”
“The basics are not in place to ensure the sustainable implementation of national health insurance.”
He said “consistent engagement” between GNU partners was needed to succeed, not just respond to the crisis, and that the clearinghouse would play this role by considering policy issues. .
“We are not going to court. We are members of this government. The clearinghouse is going to address the issues of differences. On these issues, we need to find common ground and move the country forward.” There is.”
Hlavisa said it was “surprising'' that Ramaphosa consulted with him and other leaders before signing the Bera Act, halting implementation of the continuity clause, and announcing his intention to open dialogue. ” he said.
“This is the spirit that makes GNU work: engaging our partners and making them part of the process,” he said.
The GNU will have to “address” its policy differences regarding Taiwan, as the Taiwanese embassy in Pretoria is about to be downgraded to a trade mission and the clearing house will have to deal with the issue.
Hlavisa said the IFP felt “comfortable” with the GNU because the party went into the election knowing there was no clear winner and some form of coalition was inevitable. Ta.
The party “prepared to be part of a coalition government” ahead of the election and “did some groundwork”, including traveling abroad to learn best practices from countries where coalition governments had been successful.
“We knew there would be a coalition government after 2024. We were clear. We weren't caught by surprise, so we feel at home in GNU.”
“We know that successful coalition and national unity governments require mutual respect between partners. There is acceptance, there is respect and there is an understanding that we are serving the people of South Africa,” Hlavisa said.
It was expected that the GNU would be automatically replicated at the municipal level, but this was not the case, as the May 29 elections only covered national and local governments.
“The IFP will go into the local government elections aiming to win. In the event that we may not be able to win a clear majority, we will work with like-minded parties to move local government forward.” he said.
The fact that there were different combinations of parties at different levels of government was “not a threat” but an example of “democracy at its best.”
Mr Hlavisa said he believed provincial and national governments were “starting to do what is needed” and that “all indicators point to this being a turning point for South Africa”.
Hlavisa has slammed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) over claims by its leader Julius Malema that the IFP campaign was funded by the Oppenheimer family.
Hlavisa said the party was proud of its decades-long relationship with the family that led to the establishment of Mangosuthu University of Technology and would continue to be the “voice of reason”.
“We are patriots building the future, not voices of destruction that seek to tear apart the very fabric of society,” Hlavisa said.
“The IFP builds schools, hospitals, universities, clinics and has extensive governance experience, but the voice of destruction has been stolen from the poor through the VBS looting scandal. 's contribution was nothing more than racism, insults, and subversion on matters of national importance.
“We remain undaunted in the face of an organization that is becoming increasingly desperate and discouraged, and that we know that the coming 2026 local elections may portend its death,” Hlavisa said. Ta.
IFP has begun auditing chapters ahead of a program of elective conferences at chapter level and above that will culminate in a national conference sometime next year.
Hlavisa said the party had put the process on hold to allow time for the May 29 elections and for the state and national unity government to be stabilized, and would now pursue a path toward talks. He said he would proceed.
The party wanted to complete the process at least 12 months before municipal elections.
