Inkatha Freedom Party

The Tried and Tested Alternative 

National Manifesto 

What we offer the voters of South Africa 

Contents 

Message from the IFP President                               

The Challenge of our democracy in 2009 and beyond          

Why the IFP – purpose, values & vision                     

Policy priorities & challenges                             

• Economic growth & job creation                     

• Combating poverty                                  

• Law and Order                                

• Education                                    

• Health                                             

• Redressing the past                                

• Land reform                                        

• The role of South Africa in the world              

• The moral challenge        
                 

Our candidate: Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi       

MESSAGE FROM THE IFP PRESIDENT 

My dear friends and fellow South Africans, 

The next elections are crucial for our future and that of our children. We deserve better and things must change. This is the only time when together we can bring about the real change needed.  

It is not just a matter of changing policies, but how one deals with them. For too long, policies have remained mere pieces of paper. One thing has been said and another done. There is a serious leadership crisis which calls for a new approach to governance. It requires the integrity of leaders who take their job seriously and do what they say, and say what they do. 

As in every election, political parties submit their manifestos. In the past 15 years, many of the promises made by the ruling party have proven to be empty. An election cannot be about rewarding those who make the biggest promises. Trust must be placed in those who make promises which can be fulfilled and have the track record of not luring people with false promises. 

The IFP and I have never promised what we can’t deliver. We have warned against false hopes and false prophets.  Our track record is tried and tested. Whenever we had the opportunity to govern, we delivered on our promises. We have always warned of the hard and uphill road ahead.  

A policy shift is required. But over and above it, we need leaders who ensure that policies are implemented and the business of governing is taken seriously and done competently. Whether from the opposition benches or within Government, the IFP has the track record, expertise, forcefulness and capacity to raise its voice to bring consistency into policies so that no longer is one thing said and another done.  

The past speaks for itself: 

o In spite of all policy commitments and huge international aid and government expenditure, South Africa has the highest rate of HIV and Aids in the world, while the roll out of ARVs barely touches those in need.  Denialism has cost us dearly. 

o In spite of 20% of the budget being spent on education, which is the foundation of our future prosperity and success, public education has failed year after year. An entire generation has now been educated with the new curriculum and its outcome proves that the education system has failed the test.  Our children have been betrayed! 

o In spite of laws and policies and seminars, corruption has become endemic, as money, deals and favours are spread around the political elite and its connections.  The moral decay in our society must be stopped.

o In spite of government’s resounding statements, crime continues to ravage our people and our criminal justice system is not coping. South Africa resembles a country at war. 

o In spite of all the talk about democracy, our Republic is in peril as a hegemonic party fails to separate its interests from those of the State, amends the Constitution as it wishes and abolishes the Scorpions, attacks the judiciary, abuses the state broadcaster, and for a decade has filled the front pages with endless other scandals.  

If not stopped now, this degeneration will no longer be capable of redress. Our manifesto espouses real world solutions and realisable, practical and cost-effective alternatives geared to making our life better.  Our manifesto does not just comprise words to be forgotten after the election date, but carries my total commitment and that of my Party to doing everything possible for a better South Africa.   

Yours in the struggle for a better country. 

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi

President, IFP 

INTRODUCTION: THE CHALLENGE OF OUR DEMOCRACY IN 2009 AND BEYOND 

After 15 years South Africa stands at a crossroads. The outcome of the 2009 elections will impact hugely on the direction the country takes in the next few years. 

Since 1994, development has been contradictory: there has been progress, stagnation, and regression.  While applauding the progress, we decry the stagnation and denounce the regression.  

What are some of the key challenges? 

• At the political level, the flowering of democracy has co-existed with worrying developments. One is the fact that the dominance of a single party within the within the political system has failed the requirement of there being a viable opposition capable of taking over when the ruling party fails. Worse however, is that the ruling party has abused power for its benefit. The conflation of Party and State, the extensive deployment of Party’s cronies throughout organs of state and industry, the growing patronage and corruption, the abuse of power, the threats to the judiciary – these are mere examples of a larger malaise. 

• At the economic level, while there has been laudable substantial progress, the country has not benefited optimally from the long global boom and is ill prepared for the recent crunch. As a result, our economy has not grown as vigorously as it should have, and far too few jobs have been created. Comparable countries have done much better. Poverty remains as critical as ever, with the numbers of poor growing every year. Inequality is also growing and the income gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Obscene wealth lives alongside obscene poverty. 

• At the social level, while there are many positive signs of post-apartheid recovery, major threats have not been adequately tackled. Violent crime, especially against women and children, drug abuse, xenophobia, corruption, lack of respect for each other are signs of the moral degeneration now spreading like a cancer. Major diseases like HIV/Aids, TB and malaria continue to ravage our people. Entrenched poverty worsens. The United Nations Human Development Index shows that the average life expectancy of a South African is lower in 2009 than it was in 1994. 

We should be proud of what we have collectively achieved over the past 15 years. However, the many wasted opportunities and what remains to be done call for immediate change of direction and leadership. 

The IFP’s vision and its policies have always contributed to South Africa.  They have often been adopted begrudgingly by the ruling party. What we offer now is truly valuable for our future and that of our children and grandchildren. 

We are not about ideology.  Labels such as “left”, “centre” or “right” do not help identifying what is needed. We are pragmatists focused on what works best.  We look at international best practice and at what has and has not worked at home. Global economic integration is a fact of our times: we must harvest its benefits while coping with its grave challenges. The State must support those the globalised market fails, which is morally and practically correct. Left to their own devices or to those of a minimalist state, those left behind will forever stay behind. 

Our Manifesto builds on the good achieved to date and deals with the evil and the insufficient in our society.  We want to make things better, fix what is broken, and stop the rot: not to reinvent the wheel.  

None of this can be achieved unless all South Africans become aware of the real issues and participate in and monitor their solution. We have engaged with South Africans at length and thank all those who have participated so enthusiastically in our policy programme over the past years.  Our Manifesto springs out of that dialogue and will continue to grow as that dialogue continues. 

THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY 

WHY WE EXIST

The IFP exists as a political party to serve the people of South Africa, and to do so in the spirit of ubuntu/botho. Our primary purpose is to serve. It is why we exist. We contest elections and we seek power in order to serve the people by addressing their needs and by doing so better than anyone else.  We are servants, not masters, of the people. 

We recognise ubuntu/botho as the foundation of all human interaction. No person is an island. Because we are who we are only through our interaction with others, we respect everyone and treat everyone with compassion and empathy, and in a manner that recognises their intrinsic human dignity.   

WHO ARE WE? WHAT ARE OUR VALUES?

Values guide your behaviour. They give meaning to what you do. They depict who you are and what you stand for. Values are therefore the foundation of any organisation’s policies and programmes. 

The IFP has three key values. These are: Solidarity, Freedom and Unity in Diversity, all of which are interconnected, and each of which is associated with other, secondary values. 

Solidarity. In our service to the people, the IFP will stand together with those affected by poverty, unemployment, abuse, crime, violence and other social ills and discrimination. South Africa has an enormous number of people who, left to the exigencies of the market or a minimalist state, would suffer even more severe depredations than that fate has bestowed upon them. The IFP will not stand aloof as our people suffer but will work with them, as an expression of compassion and fraternity, in providing assistance. 

Freedom. We seek a South Africa in which the potential of every person to a dignified life can be realised, with integrity, within a democratic environment. We believe everyone has the right to participate in party affairs and to advance themselves so long as their activities are premised on integrity. Everyone within the party has the right to speak and to be heard, to be treated with dignity, and to stand for any office. We embrace internal democracy, transparency and accountability. We stand for a constitutional state in which individual rights are protected against intrusive government, in which the poor and vulnerable are assisted, and in which the autonomy of civil society is not infringed upon. 

Unity in Diversity. We embrace our differences and reject the notion that we are all the same. We are equal under the law, of course, but South Africa is nonetheless made up of many different cultures, groups, races, religions, communities and peoples. None of these is more important than any other, though we do embrace Christian and other faith-based values. The IFP welcomes all into our fold. We are inclusive, we promote multiculturalism and we encourage the sharing of power among our constituents. The IFP is a home for all South Africans subscribing to our values and policies, and are welcome to join with us in our great quest to make South Africa a better country. 

These values reflect who we are in that they guide our behaviour as a political party. They equally reflect what we aspire to for the country as a whole. 

OUR VISION

What society do we want for ourselves and future generations? It is, in short, a just, prosperous and moral society whose citizens engage with each other on the basis of ubuntu/botho. 

A just society is one which is fair, which has successfully addressed the challenges of our past and, unfortunately, even the present – the lack of access to basic services, to sustainable jobs, to quality education and healthcare, and to security. It also results in freedom and equality for all before the law, irrespective of who you are and where you come from. 

A prosperous society is one in which mass poverty has been eradicated and in which our people are able to pursue a better life, in which everyone is able to develop to his or her fullest human potential. A prosperous society provides opportunity for all, provides high quality services and contributes towards stability and unity. 

A moral society is one governed by timeless moral precepts of good, unlike the situation in South Africa today which is characterised by fear, violence, crime, greed and corruption. We believe in a society based on strong family and strong community. There is a contrast between many amoral leaders and elites and the essential goodness of most South Africans – we believe everyone has a role to play in making South Africa a better place. 

A society underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu/botho must necessarily promote justice and prosperity and morality for all. We believe such a society is a possibility, and is not merely a dream. We believe our values of solidarity, freedom and unity, and our principles and policies coupled with bold leadership and political courage, can achieve this vision.
 

POLICY PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES  

One of the key failures of government over the past 15 years has been the failure to prioritise policy goals.  As a result it has attempted to do too much, spreading its limited resources too thinly and thereby ensuring at least partial failure to attain its key objectives. Over-ambitious goals in the context of a state machine weakened by transformation and partisan politicisation has aggravated the situation and contributed to a general perception that there may be a dominant party but that it controls a weak government. 

The IFP is focussed on ensuring that the needs of South Africa and South Africans come first and our key objectives are centred on: 

• Economic growth & job creation

• Combating poverty

• Law and Order

• Education

• Health   

• Redressing the past  

• Land reform

• The role of South Africa in the world

• The moral challenge 
 

JOB CREATION THROUGH MAXIMISING ECONOMIC GROWTH  

THE CHALLENGE 

It is a crucial policy objective that South Africa maximises economic growth. The key point is that while growth cannot of itself solve all the problems of unemployment, poverty or inequality, it gives policy makers the tools to grapple more effectively with a wide range of socioeconomic problems. 

Without accelerated economic growth, the challenge of creating sufficient numbers of sustainable jobs cannot be met. The current international economic meltdown is resulting in a worldwide jobs crisis and SA is not immune from this contagion. But even before this, our moderate growth rate over the past 10 - 15 years has resulted in the numbers of unemployed persons constantly rising.  

Unfortunately, GEAR’s 6% economic growth target has remained elusive from the start. But while GEAR did set this target, we agree with many economists that in order to generate the levels of employment needed in South Africa, the economy needs to grow at 8% and more, comparable to the more successful emerging economies.   

The fact of the matter is that a rapidly growing economy equates to a larger economy, and the compounding benefit of this over time is enormous - to the obvious benefit of all South Africans, especially those presently unemployed.  

With the global economy in the state it is at present, South Africa cannot aspire to this level of performance in the short term. But for the longer term the country needs now, to adopt the right policies.  

THE SOLUTION 

The IFP believes we can - in time - indeed grow our economy at 8% plus. What is required to raise our present modest growth and promote job creation are the following measures: 

• Dramatically improve our skills base. Unskilled learners equate to unemployed youths and the future is a knowledge-based economy.

Improving the skills base should be done via a variety of measures, most important of which are better educational outputs from a system which is currently in crisis. We should also access the global market for skilled workers and entrepreneurs both because our skills shortage impedes growth and because every skilled worker we import generates permanent jobs at minimal cost.

• Promote the SMME sector and change our labour laws to make it easier for small businesses to create new jobs. In most countries, it is the SMMEs that generate the greatest number of jobs, but this is not the case in South Africa which is fixated on the role of large companies.

• Through expanding the role of our development finance institutions, give smaller businesses easier access to capital. Raising capital in South Africa is very difficult for new entrants into the economy and we need to remedy this if we are to promote entrepreneurship.

• Improve our infrastructure (roads, power supplies, ports). This is critical. We are short of power stations, our harbours are a disgrace and the rail system cannot cope. Also liberalise and expand the ICT sector - modern, cost effective communications is central to any modern economy. The status quo has failed South Africa whose communications costs are far higher than they should be if we want to grow the economy faster.

• Commit to an industrial policy that promotes beneficiation and manufactured exports and also focus on sectors with higher job potential such as agriculture and tourism.

• Be more investor-friendly and encourage foreign direct investment. 

The IFP does not advocate unbridled, laissez faire capitalism associated with a minimalist state. We recognise the imperatives driving our need to be a developmental state, but this does not imply an over-interventionist state whose actions unnecessarily limit the growth potential of our economy. Thus, though we need to recognise an important role for the state, we believe more emphasis must be placed on the role of the private sector in generating growth and jobs. And we need to ensure that the negative consequences of high growth can be dealt with through other types of state intervention so that whatever we do to promote growth and jobs, we also protect our more vulnerable citizens and provide a safety net for the poor.
 

COMBATTING POVERTY

THE CHALLENGE 

A significant section of our population is trapped in poverty. This is demeaning both in respect of the lack of access by the poor to material resources as well as in their poverty being an affront to their human dignity.  

Indeed, the IFP believes the biggest indictment of democracy in South Africa is that poverty has worsened, and is in fact more prevalent today than at any time in our recent past. Neither the levels of economic growth nor the various measures the government has taken to date have been sufficient to free the poor from their poverty trap.  

While the IFP endorses the widespread provision of a variety of grants to the needy, this needs to be balanced against long term, more sustainable interventions which encourage self-sufficiency and self-help. The present approach of strengthening dependency and creating a culture of entitlement has unfortunately weakened the natural inclination of the poor to try to improve on their circumstances. At the moment, the poor are suffering from alienation, desperation and hopelessness. 

The IFP will change this. 

THE SOLUTION 

Lacking appropriate economic skills and often trapped in sub-economic rural areas, the poor require focused anti-poverty measures to improve their life chances. The IFP believes both short-term and long-term initiatives are required. 

In the short term, the poor require measures to improve their living standards, including:  

• Improved infrastructure – better roads, water, energy and sanitation.

• Improvements to the grant system – better benefits for the aged (a minimum of R1,500 pm social pensions), for child-headed families, for carers of aids orphans, for children (R880pm up to the age of 18); vouchers where this is better than cash; and a Basic Income Grant.

• Improved heath care – better local preventive and curative care at minimal cost.

• Government-run subsidised food distribution.

• Protect social pensioners and grantees from exploitation.

In the longer term, the poor need to be equipped with the skills to build for themselves, a decent life style. The IFP believes:

• There is a need to inculcate and promote - with government assistance - a sense of self-help and self-reliance to build a better life and to discourage permanent dependency on the state.

• Education is the key to freeing people from poverty. Education for the poor must be dramatically improved. At the moment education of the poor in particular, is in crisis, which contributes to the poor staying poor. We need to prioritise both formal and informal education.

• Rural agriculture must be resuscitated. A healthy agricultural sector is crucial for both food security and for sustainable livelihoods. Government must assist with training, seeds, tractors, fertilisers and so on. Special attention needs to be paid to the beneficiaries of the land reform process to make their farming more viable.

• Municipalities, and also provinces, are key role players in addressing poverty. Their powers and resources to deal with poverty should be increased. Government should work with NGOs and civic organisations as partners. 

Despite its positive interventions, Government has, over three terms of office, failed to deal decisively and effectively with poverty. Indeed, poverty and inequality endure at unacceptably high levels. Unfortunately, there are no signs of the situation improving and there is no comprehensive plan to turn the situation around.  

The IFP however, has the compassion and vision to do what is right and what is necessary to address the plight of the poor.

 

LAW AND ORDER 

THE CHALLENGE 

The pre-eminent responsibility of any government is to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. Without it none of the other policy goals have much significance. One could therefore argue with conviction that the creation of a law-abiding country is the most important single policy priority. 

The challenges facing our failing criminal justice system are legion. Some examples: the courts take too long to finalise cases; there is inadequate policing; resources are inadequate; there is too much centralisation of police functions, including crime prevention strategies; our borders are porous, allowing criminals free entry and exit; there is a lack of proper training; there is a lack of respect for authority; there is political interference in the system (eg, the disbandment of the DSO/Scorpions); our prisons are overcrowded; police are disempowered by disallowing them to use maximum force to arrest criminals; corruption is endemic.  

In general, the courts are cumbersome, and the state lacks the ability to successfully handle the many and complex prosecutions; the effectiveness of the police has plummeted; and the prisons are notorious for their criminality and corruption.  

In the meantime, since 70% of all cases are not being prosecuted to conclusion, most criminals escape unpunished, free to engage in crime. And to top it all, crime in South Africa is characterised by excessive violence, creating a psychosis among our people, wondering if each day will be their last. 

THE SOLUTION 

Much is required to turn this around. While there has been progress in certain areas, in general it is insufficient and must be rapidly accelerated. 

The judiciary: 

• We need to protect the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

• Retain or reinstate the Scorpions.

• Mandatory time frames should be legislated to improve the efficiency of judgements and sentencing.

• Accessibility to the courts should be improved. We need to ensure affordable legal costs, inter alia by improving the legal aid system.

• Corruption must be eradicated.

• Working conditions of the judiciary must be improved.

• Appointments to the bench should be depoliticised. 

Policing: 

• Appointments to the police force must be depoliticised.

• We need to upgrade the training system, with a special focus on investigative skills and forensics.

• We must reinstate specialised units.

• Policing powers should be decentralised, even to the local level.

• There should be far more community involvement in crime prevention and in inculcating a culture of respect for authority, and the police should be more accountable to communities.

• Government must provide adequate resources for effective, efficient and professional policing.

• There should be more police, they should be more visible and their response times should be improved. Police must be released from administrative duties to focus on policing.

• Working conditions must be significantly improved, and a fair promotions policy developed and implemented.

• The country must develop a highly qualified, well paid and highly motivated cadre of crime fighters to make South Africa safe.

• More focus must be placed on victims’ rights.

• The causes of crime should be better addressed.  

Prisons and correctional institutions: 

• The parole system must be overhauled and depoliticised to prevent hard-core criminals and the politically connected from benefiting.

• Hard labour should be reintroduced for certain categories of crime and there should be stricter control over conditions under which hard core prisoners serve their sentences.

• There should be improved working conditions.

• Much more effort must be made to rehabilitate juvenile offenders.

• There should be alternatives to prison for those convicted of minor offences.

• More prisons and correctional facilities should be built.

• Corruption must be stamped out and appointments depoliticised. 

Since 1994, the criminal justice system has failed to deliver, and for most South Africans, the systemic criminality of our society appears as bad, if not worse, than it has ever been.  What many perceive to be a kid glove approach has not worked. It is time for a new, tougher, and more localised approach.  

EDUCATION 

THE CHALLENGE 

Education in South Africa is in a state of crisis. Some examples: 

The government has failed miserably in providing an education that prepares our students for the job market. Basic literacy, numeracy and writing skills have been grossly neglected. The country presently lacks a highly qualified, well paid and highly motivated cadre of educators. Under the present system there is a scarcity and uneven or erratic distribution of resources. The management of the whole education system is structurally dysfunctional. The present system does not address the shortage of educators in the fields of maths, science and technical subjects. Some educational institutions have become havens of drug abuse, violence, teenage pregnancies, ill-discipline and immoral behaviour. Under the present system school governing bodies play no meaningful role and they are assigned responsibilities for which they have received no proper training. The system is in crisis as a result of the government’s state of denial with regards to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.  

All in all, education is in a sorry state. 

THE SOLUTION 

Specific issues to be addressed include the following: 

• South Africa needs a diversified education system that properly caters for the vocational, technical and academic needs of the country.

• Education should be free up to and including grade 12. We must do away with the half measures characterising the status quo.

• We must make tertiary education more affordable.

• We must radically review OBE which has failed us outright and discard it if necessary.

• The country must develop a highly qualified, well-paid and highly motivated cadre of educators to achieve quality education.

• We need more teacher training colleges (those closed should be reopened) and we must provide far more bursaries in targeted subjects such as maths, science and technical subjects. The teaching of these subjects must be prioritised at primary school level.

• We must ensure that all institutions of learning are adequately and appropriately resourced.

• Policy making should be devolved to provinces with the autonomy to formulate their own education policies suitable to their diverse needs.

• Discipline, of both learners and educators, must be returned to schools. A respect for authority and a respect for the profession, must be reintroduced. We must revisit laws that allow for or encourage anti-social behaviour. Schools must be secure and crime-free.

• We should recall qualified and experienced personnel prematurely lost to the profession, providing better incentives.

• We must better regulate the use of third party agencies in the distribution of textbooks and stationery. Existing staff must be capacitated in the acquisition and supply processes.

• We must bring back a culture of accountability throughout the system, at educator and management level and empower school governing bodies.

• We must make our education more competitive in the global market. 

While the government inherited a racially discriminatory education system, it has nonetheless failed to provide all South Africans with quality education, and there remains a vast gap between the education provided the poor and the rest. The IFP believes far more must be done to address inherited inequities and to ensure the education system affords everybody the means to fulfil his or her potential. 

 

HEALTH POLICY 

THE CHALLENGE 

If the single defining health issue is whether citizens have access to affordable, good quality health services, then the answer must be an unfortunate “no”. The health system is facing many challenges, but despite the fact that South Africa spends as much or more on health as do other comparable countries, our outputs are depressing: for instance, the average life expectancy of post-apartheid South Africans is decreasing every year when it should be increasing.  

The most shocking instance of the failure of the health system relates to the extremely poor leadership of the government in respect of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in which the prevalence rate has increased from 3% to between 11% and 17% since 1994. The anti-intellectual, anti-scientific and pro-quackery leadership of the health department has made SA the laughing stock of the world and has condemned too many of our people to a miserable and unnecessary death. Pandering to dissidents’ denialism also led to the country squandering an opportunity for early and decisive intervention when the infection rate was more manageable. Government needs to apologise to the country for the ensuing tragedy. 

Other challenges facing our health system include: the often appalling state of our clinics and community health centres with their shortages of equipment and medication; the critical shortage of health professionals at state hospitals generally and rural hospitals in particular; poor treatment of heath professionals in rural areas, leading to resignation and defeatism; an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude to communicable diseases; etc. 

THE SOLUTION 

HIV and AIDS: 

• The IFP will adopt a radical departure from the present genocidal HIV and AIDS practice and declare HIV and AIDS a national crisis.

• The IFP advocates, as the most effective tool for prevention of HIV infection: abstinence; delayed sexual debut; reduction in numbers of sexual partners (especially premarital couples); more condom use (especially the femdom) among the sexually active; and greater emphasis on fidelity in marriage.

• In terms of treatment, the IFP will prioritise upgrading the health system and rolling out treatment in line with the original targets of an additional 278 000 people being put on ARVs every year. 

• The IFP will support the ARV rollout by giving coherent and consistent messages about the relative benefit of ARVs, nutrition and alternate remedies (including traditional medicine). 

• The IFP will reassess the current protocol on HIV testing procedures that act as a barrier to the scaling up of HIV testing and which contributes towards stigmatisation.

• To destigmatise HIV, the IFP will promote routine blood testing in schools, campuses, clinics and hospitals and will saturate the public with appropriate messages. We reject the political mantra that the right to privacy – which results in people dying of AIDS - trumps the right to knowledge and the right to life.

• The IFP’s Ministry of Health will use powers under the Patents Act to issue compulsory licences to enable the local production or importation of generic versions of the patented drugs. 

Other: 

• The IFP will provide health services with reasonable physical facilities, adequate staff levels, appropriate equipment and ancillary services, and will improve primary health care.

• Although better remuneration is critical for healthcare workers (HCWs), the IFP understands that it will not allow us to retain HCWs in the public service unless conditions of service are improved.

• The IFP will bridge the gap between the Department of Health and academia and the private sector. We recognise that health care professionals are a valuable resource with expertise in every aspect of health and health services, which, if harnessed, would improve the standard of health promotion, disease prevention and rehabilitation at every level of healthcare.

• The IFP will employ the expertise of Human Resource practitioners, experts and researchers, to formulate a Human Resources Health Plan (HRHP) for the recruitment and retention of skilled health professionals in the public sector.

• This plan will change the status quo in which some hospitals operate on a ratio of 1 nurse for every 18 patients to 1 nurse for 4 patients in general wards.  As a recruitment strategy, the IFP supports the raising of public sector salaries.

• The IFP will decentralise powers and health functions to provincial, district and local governments. We will also support their attempt to access international grants such as the Global Fund to fight the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria.

• Although the IFP supports health care professionals belonging to professional associations, we oppose their unionisation because their profession is an essential service. We further believe that appointments to the various health sector councils should be depoliticised and the Minister’s powers in this regard must be curbed.

• The IFP is committed to consulting more with health care practitioners ‘on the ground’ whose work provides them with unique insights into the obstacles their patients are struggling with.

• The IFP will promote the economic rights of people living with HIV and AIDS, review and improve the current CD4 count-based disability grant criteria, and potentially, introduce a chronic illness grant. 

There have been advances in the health care system since 1994, but this is overshadowed by government’s gross failings in dealing satisfactorily with HIV and AIDS. The resultant genocide will forever taint the government and undermine its credibility.

REDRESSING THE WRONGS OF THE PAST 

THE CHALLENGE 

South Africa’s apartheid past lives on in the present, not politically, but in respect of a wide range of unfair legacies affecting the previously oppressed and unfortunately, far too many of their post-1994 children and grandchildren. In living standards, health, education, access to economic opportunity and the like, the eradication of enormous backlogs entails suitable policy and the expenditure of huge resources and will take a generation or more to deal with satisfactorily.  

Unfortunately however, while the ruling party has started a process of redress, it has not gone far enough and in many areas is taking too long to implement. As a consequence, for example, there are more South Africans living in poverty today than there were in 1994, and the ranking of South Africa in respect of the United Nations Human Development Index is dropping every year. For a post-apartheid democratic government, this is simply not good enough. In the social and economic fields in particular, the legacy of apartheid must be dealt with in a more systematic and comprehensive manner.  

THE SOLUTION 

The IFP believes the answers lie in the following: 

• Declare war on gross poverty and inequality. Although government has committed itself to halving poverty by 2014, SA has perhaps still the highest inequality of any society in the world, in which vast wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side. Great wealth is not necessarily wrong, but that it lies alongside great poverty is obscene.

• Establish clear and shorter timeframes linked to clear redress objectives. The idea that we can solve these inherited problems with small, incremental changes over many, many years is not very appealing to the poor or those still waiting for services that others currently enjoy.

• More rapid economic growth is a necessity because it will provide the resources for government to spend, while an expanding economy offers greater opportunity for self-advancement. Average growth provides average levels of government expenditure (which is what we have now), while high levels of growth provides government with more to spend.

• Give substantially more life to the second generation rights enshrined in our Constitution. A fair amount has been achieved since 1994, but a lot more can still be done. The Constitution affords people right of access to various government services, with the proviso that these rights are realisable over time. But in respect of quality health care, education, municipal services and the like, the country must simply spend more.

• Ensure the state drives the redress process, in:-

• Providing resources directly to the disadvantaged. Direct grants, soft loans, improved services, improved access to opportunities (eg, tenders), and physical assets (eg, land and housing), are examples of instruments to be used.

• Promoting self-help and self-reliance as key issues. Government should not simply provide for people. It should likewise help people to help themselves. Specific programmes modelled on this principle (such as sweat equity housing) must be implemented.

• Providing an environment conducive to individual self-advancement. A growing economy with healthy, skilled, safe and happy people able to make their way in the world on their own is the most desired outcome. Government must do more to create such an environment.

• Target critical areas, especially in the rural areas and informal settlements and deal comprehensively and holistically with their needs in respect of education, health, land, infrastructure and municipal services. 

In addressing the inequities and injustices of the past, the ruling party is not doing enough and is not doing what needs to be done quickly enough.  The IFP however, whose constituency is in dire need of better redress, believes government is the servant of the people and must simply serve them better than the ruling party is currently doing.

 

LAND REFORM 

THE CHALLENGE 

Land reform constitutes one of the most contested of the post-1994 government transformational programmes, pitting against each other black claimants and white farmers, land owners and tenants, successful claimants and government, traditional communities and government, homeless persons and municipalities. Indeed, dealing with the complex issues surrounding land reform has enormous consequences for the country in respect of agricultural production, economic opportunity, race relations, black socio-economic advancement and human dignity. The status quo, despite being the centrepiece of government policy for well over a decade, is unfortunately less than ideal. Thus: 

The manner in which the historical legacy has been addressed has unnecessarily fuelled tensions and conflicts. Government has failed to successfully implement its own policies and has transferred the blame to others. Government has set unattainable objectives, resulting in both failure and the invocation of unnecessary and counter-productive measures such as expropriation and threats to amend the Constitution. There has been widespread failure to support beneficiaries who wish to farm commercially and the maximal economic benefits of redress are not being realised. Balancing the rights of owners, tenants, workers and claimants is proving to be more complex and challenging than anticipated. The slow pace of change has resulted in growing frustrations of the landless coupled to threats of Zimbabwe-styled invasions. The status of land in traditional communities and especially the issues of control, access and tenure is politically very divisive. Where property taxation is punitive, this threatens the economic viability of commercial agriculture. 

THE SOLUTION 

The IFP believes the answers lie in the following: 

• Policy should as far as is possible, be developed in a manner that builds common purpose rather than provokes division. Although a legal framework governing land redress is necessary, underpinning it should be a search for common solutions. Claimants, tenants, workers and owners have genuine concerns which need to be faced head on and respected and all stakeholders need to be seen as part of the solution.

• Local forums should be established in rural areas to identify available land, identify potential trouble spots and to find proactive solutions.

• More use must be made of state-owned land for distribution purposes.

• Legislation is not a wish list – it should focus on what is genuinely attainable, and avoid creating unrealistic expectations which generate conflict. Indeed, since government capacity is directly responsible for the collapse of key elements of the reform agenda, this will have to be seriously addressed. Blaming others for one’s failure is not a solution. Targets will need to be reviewed.

• Government must budget sufficient funds for the reform programmes and commit to fair market value and to providing adequately for post-settlement costs.

• Permanent housing securing long-term security of tenure for poor communities is the responsibility of the state. The state also needs to secure land for this purpose. This need not comprise prime agricultural land.

• Provinces should have greater scope to address the land issue. Centralising everything in Pretoria does not promote locally-acceptable solutions.

• Redress solutions have an impact on the economy, sometimes quite negative. Far more attention, eg, needs to be paid to the post-distribution phase of the process. We need to ensure the continued productive use of agricultural land. We should involve the commercial sector in mentoring and training new entrants to farming.

• More creativity is needed in finding solutions: promote private sector involvement in area-based land reform; consider the establishment of agri-villages; dramatically increase support to new entrants to commercial farming; etc.

• Property rates on agricultural land must be reasonable.

• Together with the Houses of Traditional Leaders, review all policy and legislation pertaining to communal land. 

Although there have been some sound policy initiatives, the real status of land reform today is that it is a state of crisis. Deepening mistrust, belligerent threats, the start of land invasions, localised violence and a sense of failure characterize the current programme. The IFP believes we need to step back and take stock of where we are. We need to involve all stakeholders in reviewing failures as well as success, and we need to plan afresh so that land reform policy is both developed and implemented in a manner that takes the country forward. It can be done. All that is required is a willingness to listen, to admit to one’s errors and to move forward.

THE ROLE OF SOUTH AFRICA IN THE WORLD 

THE CHALLENGE 

The IFP recognises that South Africa is an integral part of the African continent and a role player in the global community.  

We believe the major challenges facing Africa must be rigorously addressed: the breakdown of the rule of law in many countries and poor institutions of governance; a lack of culture of democracy and poor governance institutions; a lack of culture of democracy and respect for human rights; endemic conflicts, wars and genocide; the scourge of HIV and AIDS; famine, diseases and under-development; ethnicity; and xenophobia on the part of South African citizens.  

Equally, there are numerous global challenges to be confronted: the lack of commitment among developed countries towards Africa; problems of terrorism, drug and human trafficking and wars; the manipulation of multi-lateral institutions by super powers; racism as an obstacle to integration into the global community; and dealing with the premature notion of a United States of Africa while promoting a strong, stable, regionally integrated and respected Africa. 

THE SOLUTION 

The IFP is a South African party for Africa and our values inform our position in the field of international relations. The IFP believes that:- 

• Lessons already learned from the pioneers of the African Peer Review Mechanism include the fact that the images of nations and the continent need to be radically improved to encourage investors and development partners.

• Where necessary, regional and continental forums and institutions such as the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the Pan African Parliament must be strengthened and democratised.

• International forums must likewise be democratised.

• Mechanisms should be created to persuade member-states to ratify and observe conventions and protocols which promote democracy and good governance (e.g. regular free and fair elections).

• Constitutionalism, popular participation, good governance, transparency, accountability and a culture of human rights in African states should be promoted.

• South Africa should continue to play an active role in conflict resolution and peace keeping missions to stamp out conflicts and wars.

• HIV and AIDS should be placed on the regional and continental agenda and HIV and AIDS should be declared a continental disaster, while the scourge of malaria, water-borne and other preventable diseases are simultaneously urgently addressed.

• South Africa should form partnerships with other African states in stimulating research in areas of HIV and AIDS, disease & food security.• Though the world appears to be moving towards a system of global free markets (despite many developed countries remaining protectionist), many African nations are being hugely disadvantaged by complex trade and investment agreements which ultimately undermine local economic activity. There should thus be concerted action by AU member states to build a united front in trade negotiations and to learn lessons from the failure of the World Trade Organisation, Lome, Cotonou and other agreements.

• African intellectual property rights need to be better protected.

• The problem of xenophobia in South Africa - aggravated by the fact that we have a porous border resulting in an influx of too many illegal immigrants -  needs to be seriously addressed.   

South Africa needs answers for Africa. The IFP, while it respects the right of any country to deal with its internal affairs, strongly believes that South Africa needs to do more to stand up for ordinary citizens throughout the continent when their best interests are not served by their governments. We need to be more vocal in dealing with governments that do not respect human rights and abuse the rule of law. It is our duty to protect democracy, not autocracy. There should never be a repeat of Zimbabwe again. 

THE MORAL CHALLENGE 

THE CHALLENGE 

South Africa is today a country that has reached a moral crossroad. If we continue along the same path and in the same direction as we have treaded since 1994, our destination is moral bankruptcy.  

All around us, we see the results of wrong behaviour. South Africa is not simply perceived to be the crime capital of the world, which is bad enough in itself, but as either top or nearly top offender in respect of the most morally repugnant crimes such as murder, rape, violent assault and crimes against children, women and the aged. Criminals are harboured by communities. Public facilities such as schools are vandalised. Some educators and learners play truant instead of engaging in serious and meaningful teaching and learning. Promiscuity is rampant. Corruption is rife, in both government and business. Very young girls abort without their parents even knowing their children are pregnant. Children don’t respect their parents or elders. Gangsterism is idolised. Greed and cronyism are ubiquitous and justify all kinds of excess. There is a lack of respect for society’s elders. And so on.  

This moral degeneration has not been addressed by the ruling party which, with its permissiveness, corruption and contempt for the moral views of the ordinary man and woman, is itself an important contributor to the problem.  

The only alternative to continuing along this path is to acknowledge that we are morally lost.  We need to change direction.  This is the moral challenge facing South Africa.   

While it was laudable for government to establish a moral regeneration campaign, its proponents have failed to live up to the country’s expectations – they too often failed to walk the talk. The IFP however, is calling for real changes in people’s behaviour and the behaviour of leaders, in order to make South Africa a better country.  

THE SOLUTION 

The IFP strongly believes in the human rights afforded us by the Constitution and see little purpose being served in promoting fundamentalist conservatism - South Africa does not require one excess replacing another. These are some of the specific measures that should be taken up: 

• Bring back the teaching of ubuntu/botho in schools. Civic education premised on the humanity underpinning ubuntu/botho is a key to long term attitudinal change by the young.

• Parents need to be encouraged to assume greater responsibility for their children’s behaviour and values rather than abrogating this to others. This includes children’s approach to education, the inculcation of discipline and promotion of self-discipline, their approach to life, etc.

• Taverns near schools should be outlawed. Permitting such practice negatively affects the morals and behaviour of both learners and educators.

• The practice and law of permitting abortions for 12 year-olds without the consent, let along the knowledge of parents, must be abolished.

• Casual attitudes by some educators and learners towards education must be changed. Educators who are drunk or abscond or engage in sexual relations with their charges should be severely disciplined. Learners roaming the streets instead of being at school must be dealt with firmly. 

• There must be a crackdown on corruption. The present tolerance of corruption and cronyism, especially in government, must be rejected by all. Any instances of corruption by SAPS members, including senior leaders, must be dealt with particularly harshly.

• The commitment by everyone to fighting crime must be increased. The police must be allowed to use force whenever it is reasonably necessary.

• Victims’ rights cannot be secondary to those of criminals as is the case at present. The community must itself respond to the challenge of turning in suspects.

• Promote the family and values that affirm and strengthen the family. • Consider the judicious and strictly controlled reintroduction of more effective disciplinary measures in both schools and as a sentencing tool.• Permit custom (such as virginity testing) which serves to strengthen positive moral outcomes.• Discipline and self-discipline must be promoted and rewarded. Use the fiscus to reward positive behaviour (eg, achievements in schooling). 

The IFP vision of a moral society is at odds with much that is prevalent in South Africa today. The ruling party has proven itself unable to stop the rot. The IFP however, with its commitment to ubuntu/botho, its healthy balance of liberal, conservative and social values and its determination to change South Africa for the better, is able to chart the way forward and lead this campaign for moral regeneration. 

OUR CANDIDATE: PRINCE MG BUTHELEZI 

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi is one of South Africa’s foremost political leaders. For over half a century he has endeavoured to create a South Africa that offers freedom and opportunity to all its citizens.  

Throughout the long night of apartheid rule he stood up on behalf of all South Africans, challenging oppression and championing the political and economic liberation of every South African citizen.  

Since the first democratic elections in 1994 he has continued to serve South Africa as a voice for millions of South Africans who continue to suffer in poverty and want, who fear for the security of their jobs or the safety of their families. 

Buthelezi was born in Mahlabathini, KwaZulu Natal, on 27 August 1928. He is the son of Inkosi Mathole Buthelezi and Princess Magogo ka Dinuzulu, the sister of King Solomon ka Dinuzulu. After completing a university degree at the University of Fort Hare in 1950, Buthelezi opted for a legal career which was cut short when he became Inkosi of the large Buthelezi clan in 1953. He was chief Executive Officer of the Zulu Territorial Authority from 1970; Chief Executive Councillor of the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly from 1972; and Chief Minister of KwaZulu from 1976 to 1994.  

Buthelezi used these positions to attack apartheid from within, and his steadfast refusal to accept “independence” for KwaZulu  made him the anvil upon which the apartheid edifice crumbled.  

In 1975, Buthelezi founded Inkatha as a cultural liberation movement, based on the philosophy of self-help and self-reliance.  In 1991, anticipating the new political environment in South Africa, the movement was turned into the Inkatha Freedom Party. 

In April 1994, after the first democratic elections, Buthelezi became the Republic of South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs and was appointed Acting President many times.  

Buthelezi is a strong proponent of Ubuntu/Botho, because of the value it places on the quality of human life and human relationships. He has spoken publicly on the devastating effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the African Union and the withering of democracy across the continent.  

Prince Buthelezi currently leads the Inkatha Freedom Party, the second largest black opposition party in South Africa. He is also the Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation and the Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders and the Chairperson of the Zululand District House of Traditional Leaders.  

Throughout a lifetime of public service, Prince Buthelezi has argued that South Africans will only be truly free when the economic and social policies are in place to fully develop South Africa’s economic potential; to provide educational opportunities for all; and to create safe and secure communities in which all South Africans can prosper. Buthelezi believes that after 15 years in power the ANC government has failed to apply the policies that could have delivered that society.  

For the forthcoming election, Prince Buthelezi is once again taking up the struggle to provide South Africa with the fair, prosperous and just society that South Africa’s citizens deserve.