We have come through what is politically speaking a traumatic year. We had had a setback in the General Election on the 14th of April this year. While still looking at the factors which contributed to the set back then came the so-called window of opportunity for our local Councillors.

If there is any law which is a betrayal of the voters, it is the floor-crossing legislation for which the ruling Party, was willing to tamper with the Constitution for what were patently expedient reasons.

I am aware of what has happened to the people of Estcourt who installed an IFP Council in the Municipality of Estcourt in the year 2000, only to find overnight that an ANC Council was installed through this vicious legislation and not through the ballot as should be the case in any democratic society. This took place through the blandishments of the ruling Party which included the use of patronage and cheque-book politics.

I am delighted to be in Estcourt with you today. I have come to deliver a simple, but important message. I want you to know that I, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and the IFP will not abandon you at this difficult time. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you, and the people of Estcourt, at this difficult time.

Since the general election in April, we again witnessed the unsavoury scramble for power and positions overtake the pursuit of service delivery to our people. Listen to any radio station, watch any television show, read any newspaper, and you will hear the disgust of the people of South Africa.

The ruling-party went ahead with the latest floor-crossing window in the teeth of the fierce opposition of the South African people. This undisguised contempt for the people makes a mockery of the notion that the people are the rulers. My fear is that irreparable damage has been done to the people's trust in the democratic process, and their public representatives.

I am proud that the overwhelming majority of IFP councillors resisted the cheque-book politics of the ANC, and stayed true to the colours of the IFP banner. Alas, this was not the case in Estcourt.

The change of administration in Estcourt exposes the rottenness and moral bankruptcy of floor-crossing. The last local government elections in 2000 produced nine IFP councillors to the ANC's one. The ruling party now has a majority due to the defections. This represented a disgraceful subversion of the democratic will of the people.

It is difficult to know what was behind the murder of Councillor Chetty during the so-called window of opportunity. As you know, some people responded irrationally and resorted to crime. I was devastated by the tragic death of Councillor Chetty. Our prayers and thoughts are with Councillor Chetty's family at this sad time. I add my voice to the call for the perpetrators of this despicable crime to be brought to book, and not be spared any leniency.

As President of the IFP I wish to state on record that Councillor Chetty was not a card-carrying member of the IFP. And notwithstanding repeated statements to this effect some third rate journalists in the media continued to make allegations that Councillor Chetty was an IFP Councillor. They kept on doing this to imply that Mr Chetty may have been killed by someone in the IFP or on behalf of the IFP. This was despicable and unethical conduct on the part of those who kept on repeating these false allegations against the IFP. We all want the results of the prosecution of suspects in this murder so that we can all know who did this dastardly act of assassinating Councillor Chetty. This has given the IFP very bad publicity which is not warranted.

There are those who say that the floor-crossing was a simmering cauldron of discontent that was waiting to explode. My response is that two wrongs never make a right. I urge all political parties in this province to stand firm and united in their unequivocal rejection of political violence. This basic condition of democracy, and the rule-of-law, transcends the day to day differences that beset political parties. We have left violence behind for good.

I believe floor-crossing is one of the most insidious forms of corruption that has raised its ugly head since the advent of democracy in South Africa. The right to vote was hard won in South Africa. You know how hard. We toiled, suffered and lost loved ones in the struggle for freedom. That is why it is so painful for me to see people's freedom of choice blatantly discarded by elected representatives.

The moral leadership provided by the IFP has already prevailed. The fact is that only 25 IFP councillors out of nearly 1000 found the lucrative bribes and sweeteners, offered by the ruling-party, too tempting to resist, and opted for defection. And, God willing, the IFP's moral leadership will prevail in Estcourt, when the people of this community vote in the next local government elections.

The reason for us coming to hold this rally in Estcourt today is to congratulate those stalwarts of the IFP who did not succumb to cheque-book politics. The other reason for me being here with my colleagues is to lament the betrayal of the voters of Estcourt by those whom they brought into prominence through their votes. In fact it is also a betrayal of me and the Party because in the case of our PR Councillors, it was not they that the voters voted for but voters voted for me and the Party. I have come to say that you should not lose heart because of what has happened through these turn-coats who have betrayed us.

I have come to say that the other people who have betrayed us and the Party are those who have in any way betrayed the party and the people's trust through actions of those who have abused the tax-payers' money through alleged acts of corruption. This is another issue that our members in Estcourt have to face up to. We need to purge our Councils of bad apples, who can cost us very dearly in the forthcoming elections if we do not do something drastic to do so. The sooner this is done, the better. I have come to alert you to the enormous job that we need to do together to sanction those of our members who may have transgressed. This needs to be done not sometime in future but right now.

Between now and the election, we will regroup. We will stay close to the people of Estcourt. We will do everything we can to express their needs and concerns. My promise to you today is that the IFP and I will do everything we can, to ensure that this discredited administration is removed and an IFP administration is elected.

It now falls to the moral leadership of the IFP to restore people's trust in the democratic process. The IFP must lead the fight against corruption that is extending its cancerous tentacles throughout public life in South Africa.

In 1999, President Thabo Mbeki offered me the Deputy-Presidency in exchange for the premiership of KwaZulu-Natal. The IFP had emerged from the 1999 election as the largest party in the province of KwaZulu Natal. This accorded us the right to choose the premier, the head of government. I rejected Mr Mbeki's offer on principle. I applied the same test of integrity and consistency which I have always tried to adhere to in public life.

The point is that the premiership of KwaZulu-Natal was not my gift to give to Mr Mbeki. I could not give votes away that were given to my Party. If I had accepted the Deputy-Presidency, I would have betrayed the people who chose an IFP government. I suppose, in hindsight, one could already see the ANC's determination to grab power, and its willingness to do so without recourse to the ballot box. In this, one can see a disdain of the voters by the ANC. It is the same disdain that they have demonstrated now throughout the Country through this floor-crossing legislation.

Two weeks ago, a prominent political editor suggested that it would have been better for me if I had accepted Mr Mbeki's offer. He suggested, as others have, that I had miscalculated by not doing so. Does this not trigger a red light? I shudder that a prominent journalist can make such an ill founded proposition. It speaks clearly about the health of our democracy. Machiavelli would have been heartened by such sentiments.

Corruption is all around us. At the moment there is so much coverage about corruption in the media, we might suffer from information overload. We must be vigilant that we do not become immune to the seriousness of corruption. Am I being alarmist? I don't think so.

Corruption undermines good governance and democracy. Corruption leads to poorer public services and infrastructure. Corruption leads to reduced spending on health and education. Eventually, endemic corruption erodes public confidence in state institutions. Disintegration of the nation follows.

Throughout my political career, I have always sought to serve with integrity and consistency. The problem for this government is that it has lost sight of its moral compass. No matter how mighty it seems, or apparently impregnable its majority, a government which loses its moral bearings is liable to capsize in the stormy seas of public life.

A couple of weeks ago, the Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Mr Sydney Mufamadi, said the low turnout in municipal elections needs to be urgently addressed. Participation in the local government elections in 1995 and 2000 is a worryingly low 48 percent.

I appeal to the government that if they want to restore people's trust in their government, the repealing of this immoral legislation would be a good place to start. I do not mean this as a partisan comment, or to score political points. I say so because it is in the interest of all South Africans.

In the fight against corruption, I exhort the government to demonstrate the political will and intent to eradicate the causes and effects of corruption, in all aspects of our nation's life. The lead against corruption must come from the front. We must fight the culture of impunity, and the growing perception that there are "untouchables", who can float above and flout the law. But it is not just government which must lead.

Since the election, the IFP has defined itself as South Africa's moral and constructive opposition. As a Party that aspires to provide moral leadership and provide an alternative to the IFP, each one of our conduct must be beyond reproach. One rotten apple, unfortunately, contaminates the whole batch.

Corruption will not be tolerated in the ranks of the IFP. The electorate will judge us by our performance and behaviour. Providing moral leadership means, perhaps, that we might be judged by a higher standard than our political opponents.

That time is coming closer. We face the Local Government Elections, either towards the end of 2005, or early 2006. These elections are not going to be difficult. As the dominant Party in local government in KwaZulu-Natal, we contest them as incumbents and from a high watermark in 2000.

I would like to make an appeal to our activists and supporters in Estcourt, which I have made to all the other structures of the Party. We must embrace non-stop, issue-based politics. It simply is not good enough for opposition parties to sit it out until the government might slip up and fall. The often expressed view that 'oppositions do not win elections: governments loose them', is one that I find pessimistic.

We must also acknowledge that people are increasingly choosing parties that they think will deliver for them, rather than according to their traditional allegiances.

We must convince people that we offer a better alternative. You need to take up issues that affect their communities, and where there is success, you need to ensure that they are clearly known as IFP achievements.

Such issues might include working to make the streets safer for children to play in, or uplifting the role and status of women with income generating projects, such as community gardens or craft industries. You might give assistance to young entrepreneurs with access to venture capital. You might participate in Community Police Forums, or your church youth club. You might assist with adult literacy, or by teaching computer skills.

These might sound like small things, but the collective effect is transforming and life-enhancing. For we live in a material society. I am saddened that a certain coarseness and hardness has entered into our nation's life. As a Party, we believe that innovation and hard work should be rewarded.

The pursuit of wealth in itself is morally neutral. As John Wesley put it, 'do not impute to money the faults of human nature". Yet, as a society, we are running the risk, to use the well-known expression, of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

A moral and constructive opposition, such as ours, contends that we add up to more than the value we ascribe to possessions and status. How one lives according to the principle of ubuntu, compassion and humanity, rather than if one owns the latest BMW, is seen as the benchmark of individual success.

Politicians from all sides of the political divide, and many of our spiritual leaders, have bemoaned the ripping of the delicate threads that hold society together. It falls to us to help usher in the era of the giving society. Estcourt has been a place of despair in recent times. I believe that all of you gathered in front of me today can make Estcourt a place of hope.

Thank you for coming today. When I leave today, never forget that the IFP are standing with you. Right will prevail.