Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
The ANC and IFP in KwaZulu-Natal are at each other's throats over the purging of senior Inkatha civil servants since Premier Sbu Ndebele took over.
Lionel Mtshali, IFP leader in the provincial legislature, accused Ndebele of going out of his way to weed out civil servants associated with his party.
Ndebele has, however, refuted the allegations, saying that "almost 90percent of civil servants are from the previous bantustan government".
"Civil servants who are guilty by association with the IFP have been relentlessly targeted by the ANC-led government since 2004. The purge of government employees in KwaZulu-Natal is now a fact of life," Mtshali said.
He said, "Ndebele is not only guilty of initiating and pursuing the purge, but is also culpable of denial."
He said senior government employees had left because of the pressure exerted on them by the ANC government.
Ndebele, however, came out with guns blazing. He retorted: "A demonstrable untruth is peddled that there has been a relentless purge of civil servants because of their political affiliation. The public service is not a hidden science, 90percent of government employees have been inherited from the former KwaZulu government. Out of 14 heads of departments, only three are new."
The complaint comes barely days after IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi raised it during the party's national conference in Ulundi.
'Purge of IFP workers'
Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
The ANC and IFP in KwaZulu-Natal are at each other's throats over the purging of senior Inkatha civil servants since Premier Sbu Ndebele took over.
Lionel Mtshali, IFP leader in the provincial legislature, accused Ndebele of going out of his way to weed out civil servants associated with his party.
Ndebele has, however, refuted the allegations, saying that "almost 90percent of civil servants are from the previous bantustan government".
"Civil servants who are guilty by association with the IFP have been relentlessly targeted by the ANC-led government since 2004. The purge of government employees in KwaZulu-Natal is now a fact of life," Mtshali said.
He said, "Ndebele is not only guilty of initiating and pursuing the purge, but is also culpable of denial."
He said senior government employees had left because of the pressure exerted on them by the ANC government.
Ndebele, however, came out with guns blazing. He retorted: "A demonstrable untruth is peddled that there has been a relentless purge of civil servants because of their political affiliation. The public service is not a hidden science, 90percent of government employees have been inherited from the former KwaZulu government. Out of 14 heads of departments, only three are new."
The complaint comes barely days after IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi raised it during the party's national conference in Ulundi.