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IFP - ANC Five-A-Side Meeting
PRETORIA : JANUARY 28, 2004
A number of press reports and the ANC's political statements have incorrectly characterised the IFP-ANC
five-a-side meeting which took place on Monday. This was not a political meeting and has no bearing on the IFP's
political position in respect of the elections or thereafter. It was a long
scheduled meeting, part of an ongoing process of dialogue and consultation
between the two Parties since 1999.
The President of the ANC, President Mbeki and I recently expanded the original Committee of 3-A-side to a committee of 5-A-side by each of us
adding two additional members to the committee of 3-A-side. On my side I
added the names of Mrs Lauretta Ngcobo, a member of the IFP National Council
and of the Provincial Parliament and Miss Zanele Magwaza, another member of
the IFP National Council and also the Mayor of the Zululand Municipal District.
I am informed that the President of the ANC added the 2 names of
members of the National Executive of the ANC, Mrs Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula,
who apart from being the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs is the National
Chairperson of the ANC's Women League; and also the name of Ms Nomusa Dube,
the Speaker of the eThekwini Municipality.
Since 1999, this Committee has operated without their meetings being publicised or their discussions aired in the media. By the nature of the
sensitivity of the discussions that take place in the Committee of 5-A-side
no press releases have ever been made about the content of these discussions.
It was extremely careless of the Leader of the ANC in KwaZulu
Natal, Mr Sbu Ndebele, to try and involve the media in this matter. No statements will be issued by the IFP on this matter. It is mischievous in
the extreme to try to ascribe to the meeting political significance which it
does not have. This has the effect of confusing the electorate and our two
constituencies, as if these meetings are about the present, when they are meetings which are by and large, about the past relations and the impact of
this on the present.
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