There has been an uproar in the NFP following rumors that Mr. Sipho Mbatha, who was recently sacked by the IFP as a councillor, has been promoted to an important position in this party which is shrouded in internal wars.
Dissatisfied party members complained about Mbatha being given the position of National Organizer.
Rumors that Mbatha has been given the position spread after the spread of a letter said to have been written by him where he informed NFP members about an event to be attended by the leader of the group, Mr. Ivan Barnes.
In this book, Mbatha calls himself a National Organizer. Mbatha was recently fired from being an IFP councilor in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality.
Mbatha was accused of being a member of two groups and of bribing people he promised jobs and tenders in the municipality.
Dissatisfied members said Mbatha’s appointment was against the party’s principles.
A member who asked not to be named said that the NFP policies make it clear that a person must be a member of the group for five years before being given a position.
“I wonder how long positions will be given to people who come to the party? We don’t even know Mbatha when he joined as he was given a position. I kept him as an IFP councilor. I am shocked today when I hear that he has been given such a big position. Was it because there were no other people who could have been appointed?”
The leader said that Mbatha left the wrongdoer in the NFP as he was just given a position.
“When the NFP left the IFP, we left with him. He left us in tatters and went back to the IFP. Today he will be given a position. So what will he do with the people he left behind in the IFP?”
Another leader said that people being given positions in a mysterious way made party members lose their motivation.
“This story of people who are given positions in an incomprehensible way breaks the bones and makes it difficult for NFP members to accept them. They also work freely because they are followed by speeches.”
The general secretary of the NFP, Mr. Sunset Xaba, said they have never nominated Mbatha.
Xaba said they saw the letter said to be written by Mbatha but said they did not know who had given him the authority to write it.
“He is not the organizer of the network. We are the organizer with Bawinile Mhlongo. We never elected that Mbatha, I don’t even know him. I don’t know who was sent to write that letter.”
Xaba said that Mbatha held this position when the founder of the group, Mrs Zanele of Magwaza-Msibi, was still there.
Attempts to get Mbatha’s comments were unsuccessful as his phone rang and he did not answer the questions sent to him.