The ruling party's U-turn on floor-crossing and most recently on the renaming process in Durban demonstrates, the IFP contends, that pressure from the opposition parties on the ANC works.

"The ANC has not scrapped floor-crossing or suspended its plans to rename Mangosuthu Highway in Umlazi because of its sudden realisation that these were misguided policies but because the opposition has turned up the heat," said Leader of the Official Opposition in KwaZulu Natal Dr Lionel Mtshali.

The IFP, together with the DA, previously staged protest marches against the ruling party's unilateral drive to rename public places in Durban.  The two parties recently took the matter to court.

Although the IFP welcomes the suspension of renaming in the case of Mangosuthu Highway, it continues to oppose the renaming process as a whole because of its obvious lack of proper consultation with local residents.

"The ANC has turned consultation with the public into a farce. Public hearings and submissions are often bogus and their outcome is frequently ignored if it contradicts the policy objectives of the ruling party,"

said Dr Mtshali, naming the incorporation of Matatiele into the Eastern Cape against the wishes of its residents as an example.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 
Dr Lionel Mtshali,  083 256 4902