IFP KwaZulu-Natal provincial chair Thami Ntuli said he does not have the ambition to challenge party president Velenkosini Hlabisa when the party finally holds its elective conference later this year.
Ntuli was responding to a question by TimesLIVE Premium after an interview with the party secretary-general Siphosethu Ngcobo.
During the interview, Ngcobo said there would be no contestation between the two party leaders. This could mean Hlabisa will run for re-election uncontested.
“I believe all the leaders would have said what I have said. There is no contestation between Ntuli and the president. I would dare say Ntuli is not keen to contest the president come elections. I want to make that clear: I am saying it.
“One does not even have the feelers to begin to say there may be somebody contesting, but about Ntuli, that one, I'm saying it straight, forget it. Ntuli is not going to be contesting the president,” he said.
Ngcobo added that rumours that Ntuli and Hlabisa did not see eye to eye were not true. He said both leaders had made efforts to communicate this to journalists who were convinced there was a rivalry between the two.
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.
Hlabisa was voted in as president of the party, succeeding Mangosuthu Buthelezi in 2019, and is said to have been anointed by the founding leader.
Refusing to be drawn into leadership contest debate, Ngcobo said that while the party had agreed that it would not discuss positions, he will not refuse nomination for re-election.
The IFP established councils in 17 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal while forming coalition governments led by the ANC and DA in Gauteng
“If people want you and you are convinced they really want you, you belong to the people. If they see something in you, who are you to say I am not prepared to serve?” he said.
Ngcobo said he will likely call for an extension for the party to prepare for its elective conference as the IFP leadership term ended in August. He said he would approach the party's national council to have the term of the current national leadership extended.
In August, the party directed that the NEC and National Council develop and finalise, by end of August 2024, the IFP conference road map in preparation for all conferences. However, the party's chief administrator said it was in the process of reconstituting branches and rebuilding structures after the May elections.
The party leader added that it was seized with more important issues, including taking over government in KwaZulu-Natal and campaigning for the 2026 local government elections.
The IFP established councils in 17 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal while forming coalition governments led by the ANC and DA in Gauteng.
“We are making sure the structures are properly formed, and are compliant. We are at a stage of verifying structures for credible elections. We are inaugurating branches.
“If one considers things that have happened during this term of office, one might have to request a slight change in terms of the conference dates, but not by much. Considering the elections disturbed us, we are licking wounds of the pandemic, the passing away of uMtwana [Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi], it has not been a smooth journey,” he said.
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