IFP ELECTION RALLY IN QWAQWA

ADDRESS BY
MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP
PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY AND
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS

It gives me great pleasure to be with the people of the Free State. I have maintained with the people of this region a long standing dialogue, over many years. I have come to this region, once again, to discuss the problems of the people of this region, which are so similar to the problems of the region where I come from. I have been in many regions of South Africa in the past three months, and I have spoken to thousands of people. 

Wherever I have been, whoever I have spoken to, I have heard great similarities of needs and concerns. These elections are focused on specific issues, and tangible concerns of the people of South Africa. These elections are not about ideology. These elections are not about the euphoria of liberation.

These elections are about bread and butter issues, which the people of South Africa must reflect on, in respect of where they must give direction in the next elections. April 14, is the time when the South African people must give direction to our country to solve its real issues. April 14 is the time for the people of South Africa to speak up, to forge a better future for us, our children and their children's children.

Throughout the country, I have heard, over and again, people talking and complaining about the same issues. The issues which are high on the minds of the South African people are HIV/Aids, unemployment, crime, poverty and corruption. We are all affected by these issues. Everyone has experienced the bite of HIV/Aids, unemployment, crime, poverty and corruption. Each of our regions suffers because of HIV/Aids, crime, unemployment, poverty and corruption. Certain people have tried to transform the present elections into an ideological dispute. The South African people do not wish to have ideologies. You cannot buy bread with ideologies. You cannot buy bread with promises. You cannot buy bread with the memories of the past. 

The ANC decided to have this election as close as possible to the tenth anniversary of our liberation, so that this election could be driven on the
same euphoria of liberation, as the elections held in 1994 and 1999 were.
There is a tendency of running these elections in a manner which talks about
what happened ten years ago, and celebrate today our glorious and wonderful
liberation of ten years ago. However, the South African people are not
concerned about what happened ten years ago, but are rather focusing on what
is going to happen in ten years from now. What matters are today's
problems, not yesterday's glories and achievements.

The next elections cannot be about the euphoria of liberation. It must be
about the problems that South Africans feel, experience and suffer every
day, and ways and means in which to solve them. We all suffer because of
crime. I have not met any South African who has not been a victim of crime,
or who does not live in the fear of becoming one. We all suffer because of
HIV/Aids and we are all either infected or affected by it, because we know
somebody who is infected, or somebody who is suffering from this terrible
pandemic. We are all affected by the growing wave of unemployment.
According to certain figures, in 1994 only 29% of our population was
unemployed while now about 40% of our people cannot find a job to support
their families. This situation of unemployment affects both the rich and
the poor, because a society cannot survive when 40% of its people do not
have the benefits of a job, and the dignity and security which comes with
it. I fear that unless the problem of unemployment is solved, our country
cannot have a stable future and the conditions may even be created for an
uprising.

We are all affected by the growing levels of corruption, which are making
those who do not deserve it, extremely rich and are taking resources away
from the poorest of the poor. Corruption is a cancer, which is eating away
at our society from the inside out, as it affects the way in which our
Government works, and our civil society operates. Corruption displaces
resources from where they should be, to places where they would never have
gone, which in the end makes all of us worse served by Government, and
poorer. We are all affected by the collapse of social structures in rural
areas, because of the undermining of traditional leadership, the growing
collapse of subsistence agriculture and food security. The divide between
rural and urban areas is growing ever wider. There cannot be a future of
prosperity in urban areas, until the rural areas have been stabilised, and
provided with opportunities of real development. Poverty and
underdevelopment in rural areas affects everyone, and everyone should regard
it as a problem for them, even if they live in the splendour of affluent
segments of urban areas. Until the plight of the people in rural areas is
solved, there cannot be prosperity and security for urban areas. Until the
plight of the poor is solved, the rich cannot expect long-term prosperity
and security. These are the real problems confronting the South African
people today, across many cultural and social economic divides.

The problems of HIV/Aids, unemployment, crime, poverty and corruption
affects the present and the future of rural and urban people alike, of rich
and poor people alike, of blacks and whites and of people of all regions.
These elections should be about empowering those who can solve these
problems. The South African people should think about who has created these
problems, and who is capable of solving them. This should be the only issue
before the South African people, when they go to vote on April 14. However,
there are people who are now trying to run away from the issues and cloud
the waters with ideologies. I received an attack from the President of the
country and the President of the ANC, stating that I am a right-winger. The
mind boggles.

The people of the Free State have known me for decades. For decades they
have heard about what I have done for the poorest of the poor. I have been
in politics for 50 years. When I was the Chief Minister of the erstwhile
KwaZulu Government, I created more jobs and development than many of my
colleagues, in spite of my having little or no resources. All the
industrial parts I created are still prosperous and striving to this day.
All the development I created was real, and continues to stand and grow to
this day. I have served the poorest of the poor all my life, and I cannot
conceive how anyone who lives on the same planet as I do, could think that
there is anything on my agenda other than ensuring that development and
prosperity reaches the poorest of the poor. However, I am a pragmatist not
an ideologist. To me, what matters is to get the job done. The only thing
that counts is results. Words are cheap. Promises are nothing more than
paper money, which cannot be brought to the political bank.
The ANC has been practicing the politics of empty promises for a long time.
In my life, I have never promised anything which could not be delivered. I
have even delivered things which I never promised. My only concern has
always been that of ensuring that people can benefit from my political
action. The South African people do not wish to be confused with
meaningless expressions like right-wing, left-wing, upper-wing, lower-wing,
right-foot, left-foot and any other label that certain people are now trying
to introduce, in these election campaigns. The issues are clear. I have
placed my cards on the table, not now, but for the past five years.

For the past five years I have been denouncing the fact that HIV/Aids,
unemployment, crime, poverty and corruption are issues in which the ANC
Government was not performing adequately, and that were remaining and
becoming worse by the day. The ANC denied the existence of these issues.
When it could no longer deny their existence, it tried to downplay their
magnitude and implications. These issues can be solved. There are standard
solutions to deal with these issues. However, the ANC has lacked the
political will to deal with them. For years I have suggested solutions,
which can bring about substantial improvements of these issues. While these
issues have not been attended to, the people of South Africa have suffered.
The problem of HIV/Aids could have been improved upon, had anti-retroviral
drugs been distributed years ago, as I have called the Government to do time
and again. The fact is that to this day, anti-retroviral drugs are not
available to all those who need them. All that the Government has launched
is a few pilot projects in order to make a sensational announcement on the
eve of elections. However, there is no reason why anti-retroviral drugs
have not been distributed, not only in all the public health facilities, but
also in all the clinics of all major workplaces. Too many people have died
and too many have continued to suffer, because of the inaction of government
on HIV/Aids. We do not need more empty promises and sensationalist
announcements on the eve of elections. People need drugs and assistance.

By the same token, there are standard solutions to deal with the problem of
crime. We need to have much greater civic education in all communities, to
eradicate crime from the hearts and minds of the people. Crime is not an
abstraction. It is real conduct perpetrated by real people for the wrong
reasons, and under the wrong mind set. We need to change attitudes and
perceptions. We need to have vast programmes of civic education, delivered
in all communities, workplaces, associations, and other building blocks of
our society, in addition to ordinary schools. However, we also need to have
more policemen who are better trained, better paid and better equipped who
are backed by a much stronger, larger and more efficient and more competent
judiciary. These are simple things which ought to have been done and there
is no reason why they have not been done. Saving lives should be the
government's first priority. There is no better or more necessary use for
our state's resources, than ensuring that our people can be saved from
death, whether it is death because of HIV/Aids or because of crime.

Government must become aware of the suffering of the people. We need a new
type of government in South Africa. We need a government which cares. We
need a government which places the sufferings of the people above any other
priority. There is no point in going around the world trying to build the
African union, when our people are dying because of HIV/Aids and crime and
are suffering because of unemployment, poverty and corruption. These are
the real issues confronting the South African people. It is not a matter of
being right-wing or left-wing, upper-footed or lower-footed, left-handed or
right-handed. It is a matter of doing what the South African people expect
of their government, or leaving space for somebody who is willing to give
the South African people what the South African people need and deserve.
South Africa deserves better. South Africa deserves a government which is
responsive to its needs. South Africa deserves a government which cares.
The IFP is the party that cares.

I have given plenty of evidence throughout my life that I have cared for
nothing but the people of South Africa. I have cared for all the people of
South Africa, irrespective of race, colour or creed. I have respect for all
the people of South Africa and I have cared for all of them even at the time
when our country was divided by internal wars, divisions and conflicts. My
track record speaks for itself and spans over half a century. We need to
bring this type of caring into the new government of South Africa. The
South African people must do it now, or forever forego the possibility of
having a real government which really cares and which is really theirs.
Some people feel that the struggle for real democracy has finished because
they have reached a position of comfort and power. However, the struggle
for democracy will not be finished until those who are in power have no
other priority, other than serving and caring for those who are not
empowered, and whom they represent.

There are standard proposals, strategies and solutions to the problem of
unemployment which have not been implemented in South Africa, again because
of a lack of political will on the side of the ANC. We put some of these
proposals forward and the ANC originally accepted some of them. However, it
was then paralyzed because of the veto power of the Communist Party and
COSATU. There was general agreement that privatization could have brought
about economic growth and with it much greater employment generation.
However, the ANC became paralyzed and stopped the privatization programme as
soon as they received their marching orders from the Communist Party and
COSATU. Similarly, there was a commitment to bring about greater
flexibility of the labour market and that became a government priority in
1999. However, this was also dropped because of the opposition of the
Communist Party and COSATU. It is now time to clarify whether the ANC is
governing or whether COSATU and the Communist Party are really the puppet
masters pulling its strings.

The IFP have put many proposals to the fore, to create employment. We have
stressed the need of creating a long-term plan to develop an industrial
basis for South Africa. We have pushed the proposal of developing a Green
Revolution, to make South Africa the breadbasket of the world, by opening
international markets for our agricultural products and beginning to
specialise in high added value products. In our supermarkets we buy avocado
pears which come from Europe and grapefruits which come from Israel, when in
fact both Europe and North America should be eating more agricultural
products which are produced in South Africa, than what is currently
exported. We have reached the point that we are even importing chickens
from North America, when we should be the world producer of not only
chickens, but also ducks, pigs, cows and other types of meat.

Agriculture can create job opportunities for millions of our people in the
short-term. However, the long-term development of an industrial basis for
our country is essential to produce long-term sustainable employment within
the rapidly changing context of the age of globalization. The world does
not owe us a living. In the age of globalization each country needs to
identify what type of products it can contribute to the global market. We
have made a proposal. We have the solution. We need to have the power to
bring to the South African people the relief that they seek and need so much
for the problems they are experiencing.

We have forged the coalition with the Democratic Alliance, which is not
based on ideology. I don't care whether they are right-footed or
left-footed, right-handed or left-handed and what type of wings they use. I
know that we see eye-to-eye on things which matter to the South African
people. I know that we have similar policies on the issues of HIV/Aids,
crime, corruption, unemployment and poverty. I know that the IFP and the DA
are equally committed to bring development to rural areas and make it a
priority to serve and address the needs of the people. I know that together
we can make South Africa a better place for the poorest of the poor, by
creating employment and promoting faster economic growth.
The old South Africa was built with the blood and sweat of all. Together we
must now build a new South Africa, which will require the contribution of
all, but this time around it will be built for the benefit of all. However,
we cannot escape the need of building, developing and progressing. I joined
forces with the Democratic Alliance, because together we can put the country
to work, so that it can grow and provide jobs and prosperity for all. I do
not wish to bequeath to my children and their children's children a legacy
of HIV/Aids, crime, corruption, unemployment and poverty.

Since I began my struggle for liberation, we conceived a dream which was
larger than reality. Many of my friends did not think that this dream would
ever come to pass. I dreamt that one day I could stand as I do today,
before the people of South Africa, talking of apartheid, oppression and
racism as memories of a dark and distant past. That dream came to pass and
today I can say to all of you, that racism and apartheid are things of the
past, even though there is so much which still needs to be done to eliminate
them from the hearts and minds of the people of this country, and the
practices of our society. However, today, I want to stand before you and
proclaim that there is an equally large dream which I have. Many people
believe that this dream is bigger than we are. I know that no dream is
bigger than the South African people. I know that no dream cannot be
achieved if the South African people pursue it with all their strength and
efforts.

The dream we now have is that within the space of one generation, our
children can look at the problems of HIV/Aids, crime, corruption,
unemployment and poverty as a memory of a distant and dark past. I want
today's problems to become nothing but a distant memory of a dark past for
our children. I do not want our problems of today to become our legacy and
inheritance to them. They must be free from HIV/Aids, crime, corruption,
unemployment and poverty, as much as they are now free from apartheid. We
can bring about this dream. We are not going to succeed in our fight
through ideology. We can only succeed by empowering the people who have
recognised the existence of these problems and are willing to deal with them
on the basis of actions, not promises, programmes, not ideology, and
commitment and service of the people, not arrogance.

The ANC has placed itself in a position where it no longer needs to listen
to the South African people. It has too much power. It can amend the Const
itution as it wishes, and has proven its willingness to do so on the
occasion of the crossing of the floor legislation. It is essential that the
South African people cut the ANC down to size, possibly to a size which is
less than 50%. It is essential to build our future and the next elections
need to be the point where South Africa turns around. If we do not stop the
ANC's attitude of arrogance and ideology, the problems now confronting us
are not going to be solved.

We can conceive a dream which is bigger than us. We can conceive the dream
of a better South Africa. It is up to the South African people to make this
dream a reality in 17 days. I need all of you to become engines of what it
takes to make this dream a reality. This dream can be transformed into
reality if each and every one of you now becomes an engine of progress and
ensures that on April 14 everyone votes. It is not sufficient to have
everyone convincing everyone to vote but we must also convince everyone to
convince everyone else to also vote. We need to create a great campaign to
tell people that there is the possibility of a new beginning and we can make
the difference. Together we can give South Africa the solution to its
problems. However, I cannot do it alone. I need each of you to go out
there and talk to as many people as possible for the next 17 days and
convince them to make my dream, their dream.

We need to pursue this dream together. I pray to God Almighty that he may
give all of you the wisdom and strength to become an election campaign in
your own right. Each of you needs to hold mini rallies, repeating my
message, whether it is in your families, in your communities, in your
workplaces or amongst a group of your friends and you should motivate each
person that you speak to, to do exactly the same. Very little time is left.
This is our appointment with destiny. If we miss this opportunity we will
indeed bequeath to our children and grandchildren, a future which is not
much better than our present. Let us not betray our liberation struggle.
Let us rescue our revolution from those who have betrayed it.

Let us continue to move forward. Together we can make South Africa win. If
the IFP wins, the South African people win. If we the IFP wins, we all win.
The IFP and its partners can win. The IFP and its partners can give a new
beginning to South Africa. It is for the South African people to make this
dream become a reality. I am ready, willing and able to lead this new stage
of our liberation struggle. May God protect all of us as we move forward in
this courageous direction. May God inspire the South African people on
April 14. May God bless all of you. May God bless your families. May God
bless South Africa.