Durban - IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa told his party's supporters that the party will never stand for corruption and that if the electorate trusts the IFP with its vote on 1 November, corruption will never be on the menu.
Hlabisa, on Thursday, addressed his party's supporters at the packed Prince Mangosuthu Regional Stadium in Ulundi, where he said that the IFP was committed to serving communities with accountability and providing successful, reliable service delivery.
Hlabisa said that each and every IFP councillor contesting across the country had signed a pledge, wherein they committed “To be free of corruption and to prevent corruption.”
"The IFP presents itself to the people of South Africa as a party that can fix our municipalities, deliver services, look after the purse of each municipality for the benefit of our people. Wherever we serve, we have a record of clean governance. You can trace and verify us," Hlabisa said.
Video: Samkelo Mtshali/IOL Politics
He said that each one of their candidates had been carefully selected, and each of them had signed a pledge, a contract of good governance, that would hold them and the IFP accountable.
"We will not tolerate laziness. We will not hesitate to show the door to a lazy and non-performing councillor or mayor. The IFP will not come back and apologise in 2024 or 2026.
"We will account to you quarterly at local level and annually on a national scale as to how we are performing in the Municipalities we govern. I am excited to see what these councillors and mayors will achieve in partnership with you. I am convinced, now, more than ever before, that the IFP offers our communities a credible alternative," Hlabisa said.
Video: Samkelo Mtshali/IOL Politics
He added that a big part of the ruling party’s dismal failure when it comes to poor, non-existent service delivery relates to the State’s meagre “available resources”.
Hlabisa said that corruption, which had become the calling card of the ruling party, eats away at the budgets allocated to municipalities.
"Monies meant to provide things such as housing and clean water often end up lining the pockets of friends and family members of the ruling party instead. When funds are lost to fruitless and wasteful expenditure, it is not only those projects that suffer.
"Imagine, if you would, that the money allocated to building a new school is misspent or stolen. The workers who could have made a living building that school are left without work and are unable to provide for their families. The teachers, who could have found employment once the new school had been built, remain unemployed, " Hlabisa said.
He added that the ripple effect was much greater, as the teachers are also unable to support their dependents. "Then, we have the learners who would have benefited from having another school in their community. They are forced to continue attending an overcrowded school, where there are 80 to 90 students per class. It is not difficult to imagine that many of these young people will drop out of school.
"Those who remain do not receive an education that will equip them to become productive members of society, and they find themselves unable to earn a living and contribute to the country’s economy," Hlabisa said.
Political Bureau