Mlotshwa not eyeing for NFP position

She has not been seen in public since she fell ill in November.

 

"We want to put it on record today that, I Vikizitha R Mlotshwa and the PEC [Provincial Executive Committee] of KZN, still commit ourselves to the undisputed support of our beloved president, Honourable Zanele Ka-Magwaza Msibi," he told reporters in Pietermaritzburg.

 

"We are 100 percent behind her as our leader."

 

Last week some party members staged a sit-in at the party's Durban office calling for Mlotshwa's resignation, claiming he was divisive and corrupt and wanted to unseat KaMagwaza-Msibi.

 

Mlotshwa blamed jostling for positions ahead of the local government elections next year as the main reason for recent tensions in the party.

 

"We know that those peddling such actions are trying to make it to the list for next year's elections. We will not tolerate the acts of unruly behaviour," he said.

 

The statement comes in the wake of resignations by two senior officials and a spokesman.

 

Mlotshwa criticised members that had resigned recently, saying they had not added any value to the party.

 

He dismissed allegations of corruption, saying an audit of the party's finances would vindicate him.

 

The leadership called on members to address grievances through party structures, not the media.

 

Last month, NFP national secretary Nhlanhla Khubisa said kaMagwaza-Msibi, who is also the country's deputy minister of science and technology, was recovering from "fatigue and depression".

 

When asked if he had spoken to her since she took ill on November 16, Khubisa admitted he had not.

 

Khubisa said all interaction had been with her husband Mandla Msibi and through him the party had been informed that she was getting better.

 

Senior party officials would not comment on rumours that she had had a stroke.