Buthelezi 'forced to stay on'

IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi says he is ready to step down as party leader but insisted that he "would be a coward" if he left the party while it was faced with its current problems.

Senior leaders have left the party and its membership has dwindled. It has lost control of KwaZulu-Natal and some municipalities.

Flanked by national executive council members, Buthelezi said he could not leave the IFP at this time.

"A lot of damage has been done to the IFP. I need to step aside, like all other people of my age, but I can't leave when the party is facing so many challenges. I have not decided to continue but at the same time I am forced to stay on because of the problems faced by the IFP. I am caught between a rock and the hard place."

He was responding to claims that he was clinging to power and did not want to step aside.

"I have built the IFP. I have to deal with the problems currently taking place because you can't build a house but when it is on fire run away and not put it out.

"I would be a coward if I did that," he said.

Buthelezi spoke of party issues such as allegations that there were irreconcilable splits between the IFP Youth Brigade and its mother body, and that the party was now controlled by a clique called the Core Group.

"The allegations are an obvious fabrication, the creation of people who do not wish the Inkatha Freedom Party well," he said.

It was also alleged that the IFP is spearheading a process that would allow Buthelezi to hand pick party leaders instead of leaving their selection to the next elective conference.

Buthelezi said: "These false allegations are a deliberate attempt by some rogue elements to misrepresent 'the roadmap', a draft internal discussion document aimed at creating a smooth leadership transition.

"The roadmap, which takes into consideration the recent developments in the IFP, is merely a document for discussion for party structures.

"It is not my product. Rather, it is a response to the concerns articulated by the IFP structures themselves," he said.

But Buthelezi admitted that the Core Group existed.

Recently, expelled IFP youth leader Chris Ntuli launched a scathing attack on the IFP leadership, particularly Buthelezi, accusing him of being controlled by the group.

"Yes, it did exist," Buthelezi said. "It was set up before the general election of 2009. It was a pre-election think-tank.

"Its mandate was to see to all aspects of the running of the 2009 elections.

"It is not a group or a clique that centralises decisions and pulls me by the nose," he said.