26th June 2008

The Inkatha Freedom Party has called Mike Mabuyakhulu, KwaZulu-Natal Minister of Traditional Affairs a 'useful idiot,' pursuing the mandate to isolate Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi President of the IFP. This exchange of words between the IFP and the ANC took place in today's hot debate of the Motion on the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders at the  KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in Pietermaritzburg. IFP Member of the Provincial Legislature, Mr. Blessed Gwala stated:

"Lest we forget, Minister Mabuyakhulu is an ANC member deployed in this Department by the ANC under the leadership of the Premier, the Hon. JS Ndebele. Yet, despite the fact that this controversy involving their deployed leader and the House has been going on for some time, the ANC has not lifted even a finger to call their deployed member to account.

The ANC's silence is disquieting. 

"Is it because Minister Mabuyakhulu is carrying out the mandate to deal with decisively Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi? One is tempted to draw this conclusion when one looks at the unfortunate developments around the House. First, when the elections were going on, there were attempts to bribe amaKhosi not to elect Prince Buthelezi. Indeed there were talks to the effect that the ANC wanted to deal with new faces now. Those attempts failed dismally.

"When those attempts failed, a resolution was taken apparently to make the House ungovernable; to make the kitchen so hot that Prince Buthelezi would have no choice but get out of the kitchen. Lately, there has been this ultimatum that both the Chairperson of the House and his Deputy must be employed full-time. As I take my seat, I wish to ask the Hon. Minister that today he must produce to this House and in fact hand out copies of the letter he alleged to have been written by the House where it asked that both the Chairperson and his Deputy must be full-time positions. We have heard a lot about it without seeing it. For the sake of record and transparency, let him show the letter.             

"Hon. Speaker, for the sake of posterity I feel I have no option but to place all the unfortunate developments between the Department of Traditional Affairs and the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders within their proper context. The real reason why we see all this hullabaloo is that this House is led by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

History knows that the anti-Buthelezi spirit within the ANC is traced to the breakdown of relations after the 1979 London meeting between the delegations of iNkatha and the then ANC-Mission-in-Exile. But even before that meeting there was no unanimity within the ANC as far as their relations with Prince Buthelezi and iNkatha were concerned. There were those who strictly followed what the ANC referred to as 'liberatory intolerance.' And they hated Buthelezi with a passion simply because he refused to be the ANC's fetch-and-carry-boy. It is history that the ANC told some businessmen in one of the meetings in Dakar in the 1980's that when they took over power they would ban iNkatha.

"So, some members of the ANC have never been healed from this demonic anti-Buthelezi spirit, up to now. They are still committed to that evil plan to wipe Buthelezi and the IFP out of the political scene.

Unfortunately, most of such members are found here in KwaZulu-Natal.

"It is our considered view therefore that Minister Mabuyakhulu is operating within that mandate in his dealings with the House. We say this without implying that he belongs to that faction. He may be one of those whom Lenin referred to as 'useful idiots.'"  

Gwala further lambasted Mabuyakhulu for contravening the law by not recognizing the House of Traditional Leaders as a Public Entity as the law lists it among such institutions:   

"What is even more puzzling Hon. Speaker is that the law of the country stipulates clearly that the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders is a public entity and as far as I understand, it does not say that its status is conditional on the House adhering perfectly to everything it says. But Minister Mabuyakhulu simply decides that, just because the House has failed to carry out certain legal obligations, he will not implement what the law says. To me that is contravention of the law. 

 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joshua Mazibuko
072 927 0993