DURBAN - KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Sihle Zikalala has refuted claims from the IFP of selective invitation to an event to honour Struggle heroes and unveil a wall of remembrance for victims of the Seven Days War in Pietermaritzburg.
The event, held last Saturday, was attended by Msunduzi mayor Mzi Thebolla and uMgungundlovu District mayor Mzi Zuma.
IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa had criticised the event, saying members of the provincial legislature had not been invited by the premier.
“This is a government-sponsored and government-led event. However, no members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature have been invited or informed,” said Hlabisa, who added that he had also not received an invitation in his capacity as leader of the opposition.
In a statement, Hlabisa took issue with the exclusion of the IFP from the event, saying the documentation of historical events should involve both sides.
“The black-on-black violence that took place in the 1980s and 1990s claimed victims from both sides: ANC and IFP. Accordingly, throughout talks on reconciliation between the ANC and IFP in the three-a-side, five-a-side, and ten-a-side Committees, it has always been emphasised that any commemoration of victims of violence or heroes of the liberation struggle should be balanced, and include victims and heroes from both sides.”
Spokesperson for the premier Lennox Mabaso stressed that Zikalala had been invited by Msunduzi Municipality who were hosts of the event.
“We must remind Mr Hlabisa that in a normal world, the premier is invited by departments and municipalities to address their events, and depending on the premier’s diary, he is able to attend. In addition, as a department in its own right, the Office of the Premier rolls out its own programmes, but also co-ordinates implementation across the provincial government,” said Mabaso. He accused Hlabisa of arrogance. “The criticism of Premier Zikalala is therefore akin to blaming him for doing his job. It is akin to blaming the fish for swimming,” Mabaso continued, stressing that Zikalala would not apologise for attending the event.
“We will never apologise for recording history in the version of the victim of apartheid and reflecting the people’s response to that evil system. What the premier presided over is uncontested as a record of history, ie that MK operatives, men and women, were killed in the cause of the liberation of this country. As an initiative of the local municipality, the Wall of Remembrance has its own history being told to younger generations as part of the broader Dlulisumlando project,” Mabaso said.
He said they had noted the IFP’s attacks on the many government initiatives, but stressed that this would not deter them from going about the business of carrying out government projects across the province.
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