The IFP has become the latest opposition political party to join the “moonshot pact” in a bid to ensure that the ANC is unseated come the 2024 general elections.
THE IFP has become the latest opposition political party to join the “moonshot pact” in a bid to ensure that the ANC is unseated come the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday, IFP leader Velinkosi Hlabisa said that, in the country’s best interest, the IFP has accepted DA leader John Steenhuisen’s invitation to discuss the prospects of joining the party’s proposed coalition agreement.
He added that coalition governments have become a reality in some of the country’s biggest metros, including Tshwane, Joburg and Ekurhuleni where political parties join hands in the running of these metros.
However, Hlabisa cautioned the DA against what he terms a “big brother mentality“, which the party has been accused of adopting, especially in the coalition governments in some of the metros including in Joburg metro.
“We will therefore offer our wisdom to this convention in the hope that it might avoid the common errors that have weakened past working relationships between opposition parties.
“This is not a new subject but a subject we have been working immediately after the local government elections in 2021. The issue of coalition government in 2024 is something that is not going to be avoidable in South Africa as we have seen in the local government sphere. Since last year, the IFP, the DA, the UDM, the EFF, and the other parties participated in a process which is being used in other countries who are participating in coalitions that are successful,” Hlabisa said.
In a statement released on Saturday, IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the basis of the agreement’s success is “democracy, equality, social justice, economic development, and honest leadership.”
“It is essential that we create an environment and an engagement of parties that can work successfully, should the electorate not give one political party a 50 + 1 percent majority in 2024,” Hlengwa said.
During his victory speech at the DA federal congress, Steenhuisen announced the DA would initiate a “moonshot pact” with “like-minded” political parties. He said the agreement’s primary purpose would be to unseat the ANC, prevent a potential “doomsday coalition” between the EFF and the governing party, and introduce a new national opposition coalition government.
Hlabisa said the party was in the process of taking the necessary steps to safeguard the future. He said the party will be taking heed of lessons learned from countries with a long history of successful coalition governments, such as Germany and Denmark, which he visited, together with other opposition parties.
“We have taken the necessary precautions before 2024 so that we are not taken by surprise in our bid to ensure that the ANC falls below 50%. This is not a new thing, because in principle we agree on a coalition pact,” Hlabisa added.
