Buthelezi slams Zuma at poll rally

Elder statesman says ANC tolerates corruption

Buoyed by recent successes in dozens of northern KwaZuluNatal municipalities, IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi yesterday sought to mock the ANC and the DA – its coalition partner elsewhere – saying he was surprised by their encroachment in Nquthu.

He cautioned against the rigging of Wednesday’s elections, saying if they were free and fair the IFP would do well.

Buthelezi said he was surprised to hear that the DA is saying it can take over Nquthu and said he disagreed with the ANC’s tolerance of corruption.

Speaking at the party’s final rally in eMkhonjeni near Molefe tribal authority, Buthelezi said the IFP entered a cooperation agreement with the DA after the 2016 local government elections, agreeing to support it in Johannesburg while the DA supported the IFP’s leadership in KwaZuluNatal. He said the DA acknowledged the IFP’s strength in KZN by agreeing to vote with Inkatha in the province.

“When the DA says they can do here what they did in Johannesburg, they are conveniently forgetting that what they did in Johannesburg was done with the IFP’s help,” he said.

“We are happy to work with any DA councillors in Nquthu. But the IFP needs to lead if Nquthu is to get the governance it deserves,” he said.

The veteran leader said corruption and poor economic policies have brought the country to junk status.

“I am not alone when I lay the blame at the doorstep of the president (Zuma). More than a 100 veterans of the ANC, former ministers and former members of the NEC, have pleaded with the president to do what is honourable and step down,” he said.

Buthelezi said some senior leaders in the ANC have asked him to speak to the president in his capacity as an elder but the president won’t listen to him.

“He won't listen to the stalwarts of his own party or the cry of the people of South Africa, he surely won’t heed the wisdom of Buthelezi,”

He said he would be surprised if the court ordered the National Assembly to have a secret ballot.

“We are still waiting for the president to give reasons for his midnight cabinet reshuffle that saw our finance minister kicked out, and 20 cabinet positions shifted around,” Buthelezi said.