The Editor
The Sunday World
Via email: [email protected]
Dear Editor,
Moipone Malefane’s article titled “Rumbling in COPE over Lekota’s deal” (27 November 2011) reads like the narrative of a novel rather than a factual news report.
In one part he quotes a nameless “provincial leader” of COPE, who met with unidentified “Germans” who believe that the “IFP is dead” and that they can “therefore not assist” the IFP. How this fits into a report on the DA-COPE relationship, Malefane alone knows.
But who are these unidentified “Germans” and who do they purport to represent? Certainly not the German Government, nor internationally recognized German organizations, because the facts speak to the contrary.
Just a few weeks ago, IFP President Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi was invited to Berlin by the German Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, to attend the ‘Minds for Change Forum’ organized by the German Agency for International Cooperation.
The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, which has assisted the IFP with development and training programmes for many years, took the opportunity to host a lunch in his honour, attesting to the fact that the relationship remains strong.
The Ethnological Museum of Hamburg also invited Prince Buthelezi to deliver a lecture, where he was introduced by the Vice-President of the German Chamber of Commerce.
Malefane’s article therefore amounts to badly written satire, devoid of any fact. Far from being “dead”, the IFP has regained its position as the third largest political party in South Africa following the 2011 local government elections. It places after the DA, while Cope came in fifth.
In the interests of responsible journalism and maintaining its credibility, the Sunday World should stick to its forte; gossip and tabloid-style journalism. Please leave political writing to the experts.
DR BV MTHETHWA
THE ACTION NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON OF THE IFP