IFP talks of rebranding ahead of general elections

The IFP has conceded that it needed to change course and rebrand itself to appeal to voters ahead of the 2024 provincial and national polls.

More than 500 delegates across the country are currently converged in Empangeni, northern KwaZulu-Natal, for the party’s two-day national policy conference which concludes on Wednesday. 

Addressing delegates on Tuesday, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa explained that the country was seized with new challenges which needed new solutions. 

“Policies must evolve because needs evolve, and new challenges emerge that demand solutions. We cannot rely on the upswing support we have received in the past,” said Hlabisa. 

He said the 49-year-old party which was founded in 1975 by the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi will not sell a pipe dream to South Africans by advocating for radical economic policies.

He pointed out that it was the flawed ideology by the governing ANC that had put the country under the economic doldrums and scared away investors.

Late Buthelezi to be party face

During Buthelezi’s tenure, the party had espoused liberal economic policies underpinned on the removal of restrictions and barriers, supporting free trade as a mechanism to stimulate economic growth. 

Over the years, the IFP had branded itself under the cult figure of Buthelezi. Despite his death in September 9, he is still considered highly among the party’s rank and file, with his face expected to be on the ballot despite having Hlabisa as its president.

The party last had its policy conference over ten years ago. The IFP is also expected to deliberate on channeling its energy and election machinery to KZN. This is the province where it has regained lost ground, recording impressive victories during the 2021 municipal elections in some councils, wiping off the the governing ANC.

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Sandile Motha