12 July 2010

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the IFP has taken note of media reports which allege that the IFP's National Chairperson Zanele Magwaza-Msibi is set to face a disciplinary committee soon on charges of bringing the party into disrepute.

These claims are baseless, inaccurate and wholly untrue and we would like to set the record straight.

The IFP's Extended National Council met in Ulundi on Saturday the 10th of July where all structures of the party gathered to discuss the internal divisions within our ranks, and sought to resolve these challenges ahead of the IFP's Annual General Conference.

Noting that the unity of the party is threatened by serious internal divisions, occasioned by leadership succession challenges, and the real danger that the present conflict could spill over into the Annual General Conference, the Extended National Council unanimously adopted the following two resolutions:

1.    that all members of the party foster the old culture of respect for all leaders in the party.

2.    that stern disciplinary action will be taken against anyone promoting disunity within the party. 

Reports therefore claiming that the IFP Extended National Council had rejected a resolution for the IFP's upcoming conference to be made a non-elective Conference are completely false. Such a resolution was never discussed. 

Furthermore, claims that the National Chairperson will now face a disciplinary committee are also grossly inaccurate. The National Council unanimously decided - taking into consideration our urgent need to reunite, refocus and chart a way forward - to launch an internal enquiry into the conduct of the National Chairperson, and while the IFP President noted his reservations on the matter, the National Council felt that it would be an opportunity for Mrs Magwaza-Msibi to clear the air and her name. An enquiry by nature is a problem-solving exercise and not a witch-hunt of some sort, as a number of media reports have tried to portray it.  

The IFP's NEC would like to make an urgent appeal to the media, in the lead-up to the IFP's Annual General Conference, to adhere to the principles of responsible journalism and to refrain from publishing stories on the IFP that are baseless, factually incorrect and which amount to unethical, biased reporting.