Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) President Velenkosini Hlabisa says party candidates for next year’s municipal elections will be selected according to stringent criteria, encapsulating moral values, ethics and a good leadership track record. Hlabisa was speaking at Dalton hostel in Durban ahead of next week’s by-elections.
At least 12 by-elections will be held in KwaZulu-Natal next week. In a bid to address the rejection of candidates by communities and appointing candidates not equal to the task, the IFP says it will now tighten its candidate selection criteria.
During the previous municipal elections, the party had its fair share of challenges, with communities being unhappy about some party candidates. According to Hlabisa, they want to ensure that they select candidates that will appeal to voters.
“Where we will be ensuring that the credibility of a candidate will be a critical issue, the people who will be nominated to be in our list next year will need to pass a test in order to get the approval that they can become the representatives of communities on our behalf. We will not allow people who have bad records, a proven record of not being loyal, a record of people who want to work to benefit themselves other than people.”
Living conditions in hostels
The IFP leader also says people are still living in inhuman conditions at some hostels, sharing one courtyard with people sleeping in a communal dormitory. Hlabisa says it is absurd that there are people still living in squalor. The women’s section is worse; they live in a courtyard under a porch where mattresses are packed like sardines.
“People in this hostel need extra flats that will accommodate the life of a family and allow privacy that will restore the dignity of our people. EThekwini should be ashamed of allowing people to live under these conditions.”
Mthembiseni Thusi is the IFP candidate in the by-election in eThekwini’s ward 32. The African National Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance are also contesting the by-election.
Thusi says the high crime rate in the ward and housing shortages are the main challenges in the area.
“When you look at the situation of Albert Park people there are living in rental flats. They have been living under difficult conditions for many years, some thirty years, some have been there since 1994. The problem is that many properties at Albert Park are being sold to Chinese nationals. We think these buildings should be sold to people who are living there. Another problem is the high crime rate at Albert Park.”
Eleven other by-elections will be held in different municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday.
The party recently outlined its plans for the 2021 local elections:
