Durban – The embattled National Freedom Party (NFP) has an income shortfall of R700 000 per month since being unable to withdraw a 15 percent stipend from councillors who are no longer employed, but says it still envisages a resurgence for the 2019 National Elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Durban on Friday, acting national chairman Bheki Gumbi said that the national executive committee (NEC) was doing everything possible to move away from the “not so good past”.
“We certainly hope that our members will get their hands on the deck in ensuring that our party moves forward from the conundrum we found ourselves in not long ago,” he said.
Party funding now relied mostly on a 15 percent stipend from six members of parliament and six members of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature, said Gumbi.
He said the party did not and had never had private donors.
The NFP’s financial challenges could not be hidden, he said, “but we need to keep the party going and moving”.
Former Nongoma mayor, Jeremiah Mavundla, also at the meeting, said that the party’s strategy to increase its funding included the creation of a task team to investigate fund raising initiatives.
“We are working hard to show people that the party is going to run for the next 10 to 15 years at least,” said Mavundla.
New annual membership cards had been re-printed and re-issued, and were available to members for R10, renewable each year, said Mavundla.
“We need that R10 like never before,” said Gumbi.
The cards were needed for members to attend the policy conference from December 16 to 18 and the elective conference from April 27 to 29 next year.
Gumbi said the elective conference would be held in North West Province.
“But because of the financial constraints, we might reconsider the venue,” he said.
He said the party was trying to grow membership from the current 150 000 members.
Party president Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi would remain in her position as it was an NFP resolution that the first president would stand two terms uncontested.
“We need her now more than ever before,” he said.
KaMagwaza-Msibi suffered a stroke in 2014 and was mostly absent from public life until this year, when she made an appearance in June at the party’s manifesto launch.
Her absence caused divisions within the party, with senior leaders vying for the presidency, saying her continued absence left the party with a leadership void that had to be filled.
“The president is recovering very well and we thank God for that, she has appeared in parliament as the deputy minister of science and technology, and she still has a challenge on the speech side,” said Gumbi.
“The majority of our people follow or like the NFP because of KaMagwaza-Msibi,” he said.
The NEC appreciated the leadership role played by KaMagwaza-Msibi, he said.
“She is guiding us and helping us to move steadily in driving the organisation to success.”
With the exception of Nquthu municipality the party was disqualified from contesting the local government elections in August because of a failure to pay its registration fee, something it blamed on its national treasurer at the time, Xolani Ndlovu.
Ndlovu was accused of being in cahoots with the IFP to bring about the downfall of the NFP, which broke away from the IFP in 2011. Ndlovu was subsequently expelled.
African News Agency