I am delighted to be here today to welcome three new municipal councillors to their new political home. The decision they have just made could not have been easy. It was perhaps made more difficult by the fact that they have crossed the floor to join the one political party in South Africa that has consistently opposed floor-crossing from the moment this controversial legislation came into being. 

South Africa, we all know, remains in a process of ongoing political transition, democratic consolidation and social transformation.

Floor-crossing, as an aspect of the formal framework of representative democracy, has a huge potential to influence these processes. And so it does.

When individual Members of Parliament or municipal councillors cross the floor, their movements across the political spectrum distort the balance of representation as determined by citizens through the ballot box. 

Floor-crossing thus undermines the principle of participatory democracy envisioned by the South African Constitution: representatives shuffle across the corridors of power without any imperative to consult the voters, or be held accountable to citizens or their opinions. 

Opinion polls have shown consistently that the effects of floor-crossing generally do not channel public opinion. In other words, a 2% shift toward a party through floor-crossing does not necessarily reflect a concurrent shift in voter intention towards that party. This is what the IFP genuinely believes. 

So does not an occasion like this place a party like the IFP in an awkward position? The biggest beneficiary of the floor-crossing legislation is, of course, the ANC. They have all the patronage in the country to lure members from other political parties. We on the opposition benches, on the other hand, only have our beliefs. If these three members, disillusioned by their old political parties, found our values more appealing than material offers from the ruling party – and I hear there have been some spectacular ones on the table, we do have an obligation to welcome them. 

At the same time, I wish to assure these new members that they have done the right thing. They have joined the political party with the right ideas and the right solutions for the province and the country. We will be pleased to utilize the expertise and experience of the new members and they will be pleased to know that they are working towards a tangible betterment of the people of South Africa. 

I would like to thank the members of the media for taking time to witness and report on this solemn occasion. But most of all, I would like to thank our three new councillors for their courage to join the one political party in South Africa that lives by principle. Welcome on board the IFP ship! 

I thank you. 

Contact:
Zanele Magwaza-Msibi, 082 804 7993