The IFP contends that despite the ruling party's flowery rhetoric, conservation has featured near the end on the list of its priorities in local government. Pietermaritzburg, where urban decay has taken a particularly cruel toll, is an example.

"In Pietermaritzburg conservation has long fallen victim to the tension between the well-meaning legislation and the failure of its effective implementation," said Henry Combrinck, IFP Chief Whip in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Parliament, who also holds his party's conservation portfolio. "This amounts to nothing less than a failure to deliver on the part of the local government."

The IFP places a lot of the blame for Pietermaritzburg's decay at the door of Amafa (Heritage KwaZulu-Natal), which has vigorously catalogued a number of legal offences but in the end failed to follow up on them and prosecute the offenders.

"The commitment of many outgoing ward councillors to Pietermaritzburg's conservation has yet to match the local-patriotism of the IFP candidates in the upcoming local government elections," said Combrinck. "As a staunch custodian of cultural traditions, the IFP pledges to save and cultivate Pietermaritzburg's cultural heritage for future generations."