The IFP has dismissed suggestions it pressured three of its members into resigning as members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
|||Durban - The IFP has dismissed suggestions that it pressured three of its members into resigning as members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
It is understood that Usha Roopnarain, Roman Liptak and MJ Mthethwa have tendered their resignations as IFP MPLs.
IFP caucus leader Blessed Gwala on Wednesday confirmed two of the resignations but said they were not new.
“Dr Mthethwa is not well and he asked to be excused. I don’t think that this is newsworthy,” he said.
“On the issue of Dr Roopnarain, she is the one who stated last year that she had no time to do party work and if someone does not have time for party work how can they continue to represent the party in the legislature?”
Attempts to get comment from Roopnarain failed on Wednesday.
Gwala said that Liptak had not resigned and was not suspended despite suggestions to this effect.
“There is a discussion that he is currently having with the party and I am not going to be the one who divulges that information.”
Asked whether Liptak was continuing with his duties at the legislature, Gwala said: “I have not seen him and I have not received any letter of apology.”
Attempts to reach Liptak for comment also failed.
These resignations are the latest to rock the party since the beginning of the current administration term in 2009.
In 2011, two high profile IFP MPLs - the then IFP caucus leader Bonginkosi Buthelezi, and Thulasizwe Buthelezi, who was also the party’s deputy national spokesman - quit their positions.
bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za
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