EFF and IFP bury the hatchet
History was dealt with amicably and an understanding was reached.
THERE was a jovial mood at the press conference following a meeting between the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) War Council led by the Commander-in-Chief fighter Julius Malema and the National Executive Committee of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), led by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi this week.
This was the first meeting between the two parties and a number of issues, including unfortunate events of the past which negatively impacted on relations between the President of the IFP and the then President of the ANC Youth League, were discussed.
That history was dealt with amicably and an understanding was reached.
Malema conveyed a sincere apology to Prince Buthelezi for the unfortunate remarks he made about him during his tenure as President of the ANC Youth League and vowed to never make such remarks in the future.
The national leadership of the IFP wholeheartedly accepted the apology and acknowledged that this reflects the maturity of the EFF’s approach to the electoral politics of South Africa.
The two parties agreed that millions of South Africans have not experienced the freedom for which they had fought and the current government has failed them with regards to doing justice to the issue of land.
Common ground was achieved regarding the land issue where it was felt there needs to be a new approach.
The issue of corruption and nepotism, which they called ‘a cancer in our society’, seriously impacts on service delivery.
The parties shared the view that the role of the IEC must be discussed to find a situation where elections can really be called free-and-fair.
Serious concerns were raised regarding the recruitment of Electoral Officers from the ANC-aligned SA Democratic Teachers’ Union.
Although there are fundamental differences between the two organisations, they agreed it is more than crucial for parties in opposition to work together to ensure the forth-coming national elections are free, fair and just.
They have agreed to keep channels of communication between the parties open.
Both parties have also agreed to protect each other during the elections campaign and ensure their members campaign in all areas without fear of intimidation and violence.
EFF and IFP agreed tribalism should never be a tool for political mobilisation and that efforts by the ruling party, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, to use tribalism should be opposed.
The electorate should be educated that governments are chosen for the policy positions they advocate, not for the language they speak.
Another point of concern to both parties was the role of the SABC in the up-coming elections.
As a public broadcaster, the SABC has an obligation to provide free and fair coverage for all political parties during elections in an equitable manner.
The ICASA regulations allocate the time period for political party coverage during elections, but these do not provide a free and fair environment to all parties to canvass for votes.
