The IFP plans to relocate the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial legislature to Ulundi if it dislodges the ANC from power in the general elections next year.
This was revealed by Ulundi mayor Wilson Ntshangase in an exclusive interview with Sunday World last week.
Ntshangase said as part of preparations for the possible relocation, the small rural-based municipality was now improving and building new infrastructure to house members of the provincial legislature.
“There are various infrastructural projects that we are engaging in as a municipality. Ulundi stands ready to house the provincial parliament in our old legislature buildings. We have also committed R25-million towards building a new multipurpose centre, which will also be used as a meeting venue for major conferences. In terms of its standard, the facility can be compared to the Durban ICC,” said Ntshangase.
He pointed out that the plan to move the provincial legislature from Pietermaritzburg will not only save the government millions of rands, but also contribute towards revitalising the rural economy.
“Besides this, we know that our area is the home of kings because many Zulu kings are buried in Ondini (another name for Ulundi). So, there would be nothing more befitting than to see the legislature being brought back to its original place,” he said.
When the governing party toppled the IFP from power in 2004, it decided to abandon Ulundi as the KZN headquarters and instead relocated it to Pietermaritzburg. Prior to that, the legislature sittings alternated between Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi. The move came at a hefty price, with the government forced to foot more than R11-million in annual rental fees to accommodate members of the provincial legislature.
ActionSA, which is leading a campaign to support the IFP in its relocation bid, said it will not support the decision to spend more than R 6.8-billion to build a new government precinct, which houses the new legislature in Pietermaritzburg.
According to the plan, the development will also feature state-of-the-art government offices in the same vicinity. ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango said the party has embarked on a process to collect signatures from KZN residents who support the proposal to move the legislature back to Ulundi.
“We will in due course present the petition to the petitions committee in the legislature. But over and above that, we believe that some politicians in the governing party are benefiting in the arrangement. This explains their refusal to support relocating parliament to Ulundi. And I can assure you that it’s not a black person who owns the property where the current legislature is housed. This flies in the face of black economic emancipation,” said Mncwango.
Velenkosini Hlabisa, IFP leader of the official opposition and its President said it was the party’s position that the seat of provincial parliament should be in Ulundi.
“The IFP has long held and expressed a view that the legislature should relocate to Ulundi which was inherited from the erstwhile KwaZulu government. We are also opposing the proposal by the provincial government to spending R 6.8 billion towards the new precinct which will house the legislature,” said Hlabisa.
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