Party attributes comeback to its hard work
DURBAN - THE IFP’s dismal performance at the 2016 local government elections was a wake-up call that prompted the party to launch a dramatic comeback that has seen it on the cusp of reclaiming several municipalities from the ANC.
This is according to party spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who was reacting to the party’s performance in this year’s local government elections.
While results have yet to declared, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa website, the IFP was last night leading in the vote count in several of its northern KZN strongholds such as Abaqulusi, uMsinga, Nkandla, Ulundi, uPhongolo and Hlabisa Big Five Municipality, while the NFP was leading in eDumbe and showing strongly in Ulundi and in Nongoma.
Hlengwa told The Mercury that they had a clear strategy which worked efficiently during campaigning. “We developed a 10-point plan on how we were going to retain the municipalities that we controlled and regain those municipalities we had lost,” said Hlengwa. He said part of the plan included:
Targeting young people as part of the election campaign as the group had emerged as a crucial voting block.
Visiting different communities, especially in KZN, and recording their grievances over service delivery.
Spreading the party’s message of commitment to serving the people.
According to Hlengwa, the party leadership had also noticed a decline in voter turn-out in the elections and sought to encourage people to vote in a bid to recover lost ground.
“We realised early on that we needed to improve our game and so we reached out to communities in all parts of the province to tell them of our plan to improve service delivery at municipalities and we sought to hear their frustrations and asked them to trust us with their vote,” said Hlengwa.
The IFP’s showing had social media in a frenzy. Many expressed shock at how the ANC had lost so much ground.
Speaking to Independent Media at the KZN Results Operations Centre, ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela conceded that they had suffered serious damage in the north of the province. “Where there is serious damage is north of Uthukela, in almost all of those areas seemingly we have been walloped.”
Ntombela accepted that they might be losing control of the key King Cetshwayo District Municipality, which comprises the uMhlathuze, Mthonjaneni, Nkandla, uMfolozi and uMlalazi local municipalities. He said that they could lose four out of the five councils in the district and only be left with the City of uMhlathuze Local Municipality in that district.
Ntombela said the results of the counted votes could also see the loss of municipalities such as uMkhanyakude District Municipality and local municipalities under it such as Hlabisa Big Five Municipality, Mtubatuba and uMhlabuyalingana, while they could also lose eMadlangeni Local Municipality.
“Comrades are demoralised, some are shocked because they were not expecting the outcome. We’ve got a responsibility as the provincial leadership of how we help them to regroup and refocus because we must still prepare for regional conferences, we must prepare for the general elections of 2024, so there is no other period of a break in between,” Ntombela said.
However, the party has enjoyed some victories in its strongholds such as eThekwini, where it was sitting on 53% of the counted votes and had won 75 wards, followed by the DA which had won 34 wards so far in the city, with the IFP with one ward by yesterday afternoon.
The ANC also performed well in Harry Gwala District where it won all the wards in Kokstad and Ubuhlebezwe, where it only lost one ward that was won by an independent candidate.
Political analyst Daniel Silke said the IFP’s victory was aided by the fact that voters were fed up by the scandals that were reported in municipalities under ANC control.
Silke said the active role played by the IFP’s founding president, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, during the campaign had an impact in getting many people to vote for the party. “For someone of his age, Buthelezi really worked hard and it appears that his involvement in the campaign has paid off,” Silke said.
He added that the arrest of former ANC president Jacob Zuma also had a bearing in the party’s political fortunes.
“There is an ethnic factor which cannot be dismissed because Zuma is a proud Zulu-speaking leader and this feature appealed to many in the province when he was at the helm of the ruling party in the past elections and his absence during the campaign this year may have influenced many not to want to vote,” Silke concluded.
Analyst Thabani Khumalo said the IFP’s trump card had been Buthelezi.
He also noted how Buthelezi had used his position as Zulu Traditional Prime Minister to garner support. “With the death of the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, it was Buthelezi who emerged as a leading figure who sought to unite the Zulu nation during the period of mourning and this raised his profile.”
THE MERCURY