IN what could turn out to be a real political poser, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has said he will attend the national convention called by Mosiuoa Lekota to discuss a new political formation.
Buthelezi has a sizeable constituency in KwaZulu-Natal, but the memory of bitter violent clashes between the ANC and IFP in the 1980s and 90s could make the IFPs presence a bitter pill for many ANC members to swallow.
This is what Buthelezi said:

I am issuing this statement as a unified response to the many media
requests I have received for a reaction to the statement made today by
former Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota.

It is not my habit to comment on what happens within other political
parties and I have never said a word about their internal leadership
struggles and turmoil. However, we have reached a point in South Africa
in which the divide between the ruling party and the State has
collapsed and matters affecting the ruling party have become matters of
State affecting the future of our Republic. Under these circumstances,
it is therefore imperative for anyone to take an interest.

The issues raised by Mr Lekota relate to the underpinning values of
politics and the future of our Republic, and ought to be debated
seriously, also beyond the boundaries of the ruling party. His comments
have again brought to the fore an old debate on the underpinning values
of our liberation struggle and how they ought to be implemented in the
running of our country.

The founding father of the ANC, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, was my
uncle. He, Inkosi Lutuli, Bishop Alpheus Zulu and other prominent
founding fathers were my mentors. That is why when Jimmy Kruger, the
then Minister of Police, said that Inkatha was an exclusive Zulu ethnic
organisation, I responded by saying that Inkatha was structured on the
ideals of the ANC in 1912.

The ANC was founded and managed by my relatives. After consulting
Oliver Tambo, I formed Inkatha to complement the ANC’s action when the
ANC was banned and exiled. For this reason, when in 1979 Inkatha and
the ANC broke apart, I made two statements which I believe to still be
valid and relevant; namely that nobody owns the ANC copyright and that
in its conduct Inkatha remains more faithful to the founding values of
the ANC than the ANC itself.

We are now at the stage in which the values underpinning our society
are under threat. What we have today is a far cry from the future our
forefathers promised us in 1912 and to which my generation dedicated
its life of struggle. We must not leave this legacy, but preserve it as
a pool of values to inspire future generations.

For this reason, I agree with Mr Lekota that our society must come
together to talk about these values and should do so not only beyond
political divides, but also beyond that which now divides the political
world and a civil society which is rightly becoming increasingly
distant and disenchanted with politics. Hence, an all-inclusive
approach to the conference he proposes, with the involvement of
building blocks of society, such as churches, traditional leadership
and business, is necessary.

Related posts:

1. Lekota’s national convention gets into top gear
2. Lekota, Shilowa national convention declaration: Full text
3. Lekota’s speech to the national convention: Audio
4. Lekota’s National Convention launches web site
5. National convention: Summary of key speeches