Former Zululand Mayor Mpiyakhe Hlatshwayo denies mayoral ambitions
‘We only had one working agreement with the ANC and that agreement ended last year
FORMER Zululand Mayor, Mpiyakhe Hlatshwayo has rejected the claim that he dumped the National Freedom Party to take over the vacant mayoral position in Zululand District Municipality.
Hlatshwayo said there are various reasons that forced him to resign from the NFP, the chief one being that the NFP has shown too great a respect for the ruling ANC in Parliament which has compromised their status as the opposition party.
‘We only had one working agreement with the ANC and that agreement ended last year.
‘We only agreed to work together in hung municipalities after the 2011 Local Government Election, but we have all seen that members of parliament and legislatures are treating the ANC with kids gloves.
‘When we failed to contest last year’s Local Government Elections, an undemocratic decision was taken to vote for the ANC without consulting us as members, and we are not sure where and how that decision was taken.
‘If I wanted to be a member of the ANC, I would have joined them.
‘Another issue is that after president Zanele Magwaza-Msibi took a decision to disbanded all leadership, she appointed a committee to rebuild the party – but after few months she appointed another ad hoc committee. Now these two committees work in parallel and the party is going nowhere.
‘I also believe these committees were not appointed by the president, which is why other members have taken the party to court.
‘The NFP has lot of debits and is failing to pay creditors and soon it will be liquidated, so I don’t want to wait for the roof to fall over my head, ’said Hlatshwayo.
No IFP ambitions
He also explained that he is not eyeing any position or deployment within the IFP but he rejoined the IFP party ‘because it is the only organisation I shares the same ideology with.
‘If I wanted any position within the IFP I would have joined it before the Local Government Election. If you look at it now they have already completed their deployments, ’he said.
The Source within the IFP states that Hlatshwayo resigned to take the mayoral position which became vacant after Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi was moved to Parliament in Cape Town.
‘I heard that he is contesting for the position with the former IFPYB, Thulasizwe Buthelezi but Hlatshwayo has an upper hand as he had worked as mayor before in the same municipality,’ he said
NFP spokesman Sabelo Sigudu said as the NFP they still regard Hlatshwayo as their member as they have not received a formal resignation letter from him.
‘We are hearing this from the media and we take this as rumours,’ he said.
IFP deputy spokesman Joshwa Mazibuka said it is not true that they have promised Hlatshwayo a mayoral position.
‘We are still discussing the matter of replacement it has not been finalised. Once it has been, we will than inform the public,’ said Mazibuko.
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