Durban — The spectre of the late IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi will loom large on Sunday as the party holds its first manifesto launch without the statesman.
The IFP has pulled out all the stops, including a helicopter fly-past with its banner bearing Buthelezi’s image. The party kick-started its celebrations on Friday, with the helicopter hovering around Durban, and a gala dinner.
The provincial leadership of the party was equally upbeat on Saturday when it held a press conference, saying they were confident that their manifesto launch would be one for the books.
Speaking at the Moses Mabhida Stadium following an inspection of the venue ahead of the manifesto launch on Sunday, IFP provincial chairperson and premier candidate Thami Ntuli said that attendees could look forward to “practical solutions to the problems of KZN and even South Africa”.
“As the IFP, we are ready for the manifesto launch. We are expecting more supporters than what other parties might have had, in terms of the numbers, because of the indications we have actually received. Hence, we will not only be hosting people on the grandstands but we have also covered the floor because we want to accommodate people there,” he said, adding that guests such as traditional leaders would be accommodated in special suites.
Ntuli said their programme would begin at 11am, and that the gates to the stadium would be open to the public from 8am.
Ntuli said they envisaged that everyone would wear their white IFP-branded T-shirts in honour of Prince Buthelezi.
“For this election, we are saying #DoitforShenge and are encouraging people to thank Shenge for the work that he did on the issue of the struggle for liberation for South Africa, and also on the issue of infrastructure development in the province,” he said.
Ntuli encouraged people to vote for the IFP, saying that they prioritised solutions such as the establishment of universities and investment solutions for the economy.
He said among the challenges he had noted in the province were unemployment, high rates of crime and the poor performance of the economy which, he said, had been exacerbated by load shedding.
Ntuli said that while they have been touring the province drumming up support for Sunday’s event, the reception from people in the different areas had been warm and encouraging.
“People have been coming in numbers. It has been amazing. It is almost as if the founder of the IFP has been canvassing for our programmes himself because people are welcoming us with excitement, especially the youth,” he said.
Although this was their first year of elections without Buthelezi, their former leader had left a solid foundation behind, said Ntuli.
“Umntwana left a solid foundation because he was a mentor who mentored the leadership of the IFP and, as a result, we are continuing to win even the by-elections, which is an indication that we are still a formidable and strong party because of his legacy and mentorship.”
Speaking on behalf of the eThekwini Metro Police, Boysie Zungu said their traffic control plan was ready, as per discussion with the event organisers.
“There will be no total road closures, but all intersections around the stadium will be managed by officers.
“We have agreed to have two drop-off zones, one in uMgeni Road which will be cordoned off for buses to offload and move to the designated parking place. There will be another drop-off zone in Masabalala Yengwa (Avenue) and it will be cordoned off and the buses will move to their parking places,” Zungu said.
He went on to say that vehicles would park at the mastering field and buses would move to Natal Command and the Durban Drive-in. There would also be increased deployment of officers on the freeways coming into the city.
Sunday Tribune