Durban - The IFP has described the latest talk of a split within the party’s leadership as the work of political forces that seek to gain from the party’s demise.
This after rumours surfaced last week of a plot to unseat IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa by some party leaders who seek to position themselves before next year’s elections.
The leaders were said to be planning a vote of no confidence against Hlabisa and the rest of the National Executive Committee in what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid. Wins recorded by the IFP in recent by-elections in many parts of the province are said to have emboldened those behind the move as they see themselves occupying positions of Members of Provincial Legislature or even Members of the Executive Council (MECs) after the 2024 elections.
For months now the IFP has also had to fend off rumours of tensions between Hlabisa and the party’s KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, Thami Ntuli, who is also King Cetshwayo District mayor.
Several IFP members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said while Ntuli and Hlabisa had differing opinions on some matters, there was no tension between them.
“They have different leadership styles and from where I stand there is no competition between the two, rather they tend to complement each other,” said one IFP member. Another party member said the recent moves had been meant to test Hlabisa’s strength at the helm of the party.
Yesterday, IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa dismissed talk of tensions, stressing that the party leadership was focused on strengthening its structures before the elections next year.
“Where have you ever witnessed success emerging out of tensions, because what we have is an IFP that continues to win by-elections?”
The spokesperson also lambasted the sources of the rumour, challenging them to provide proof.
According to Hlengwa the rumours were part of a character assassination attempt aimed at the party’s leadership, a ploy which he said would not work.
A few months ago Hlabisa got lambasted by his opponents within the party when he was seen on social media with a group of party supporters who were wearing T-shirts bearing his image, prompting the party to issue a statement indicating that only founding president Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s image was allowed on party gear.