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The IFP is gearing up for its elective conferences before the end of this month, with all eyes on the task of choosing the party's next leader.
IFP incumbent Velenkosini Hlabisa is expected to go head-to-head with KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli for the top seat.
Hlabisa was recently appointed in President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet as co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister while Ntuli leads a four-party coalition in KwaZulu-Natal with just enough numbers to beat the leading MK Party in the province.
This was due to the party's triumph in the post-election talks which led to its participation in the government of national unity.
A meeting of the party structure that presides over its workings in between conferences decided that the national executive committee (NEC) and its national council should develop and finalise by the end of August an IFP conference road map in preparation for all conferences.
This is as per a resolution tabled by the party's extended national council which sat this past weekend.
The leadership noted that the internal party activities, including the inauguration of branches, were suspended to focus on the past general election campaign.
IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa echoed these sentiments, saying the recent general elections played a role in delaying the conference as the party was occupied with the election campaign.
“Every political party has been engaged in elections. If you want to hold a conference, there is necessary groundwork in terms of readiness of structures and compliance with the constitution — the time is clearly not enough.
“They are not under any rush or pressure,” he told Sowetan's sister publication TimesLIVE recently.
However, the clock has begun ticking, counting down to the leadership race where he will be contested.
The meeting directed that the membership drive and branch inauguration be a continuous party activity, resulting in calls for an audit of all inaugurated branches as a basic unit of party mobilisation.
The extended national council also called on the party's national campaign committee to support the IFP structures in reviewing the party's electoral performance to effect “proactive and reactive corrective action” to improve party mobilisation.
After that, the campaign committee is to set its sights on the upcoming local government elections and finalise a campaign programme ahead of 2026.
A review of all IFP-governed municipalities regarding their service delivery targets is also due by November.
The party welcomed its electoral fortunes, hailing its upward trajectory from 14% to 17%.
The party's improvement at the recent polls made it one of the founding members of the government of national unity, scoring a co-operative governance and traditional affairs ministerial post alongside two other deputy minister posts.
The extended national council endorsed the decision of the NEC and national council to make the IFP a signatory to the Statement of Intent (SOI) and welcomed the IFP’s participation in the GNU and GPUs in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
“We directed that the IFP must not lose its identity in the GNU and must aggressively pursue IFP policies and the 2024 Manifesto in the GNU’s basic minimum programme of priorities, as espoused in the medium-term development plan of the 7th administration,” the council said.
TimesLIVE
