The ANC has called for a new presidential commission on amnesty and the pardoning of perpetrators of political violence, both inside and outside prison.
This comes amid the furore over President Thabo Mbeki's recent pardoning of political prisoners in the Eastern Cape.
The call also comes as the IFP - the ANC's enemy in the days when political violence ruled the nation - is embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission over its findings that the IFP, under its leader Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, was the "primary non-state perpetrator responsible for approximately 33 percent of all the violations reported to the commission".
Speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal ANC congress in Durban on Saturday, provincial ANC chairperson S'bu Ndebele said the proposed amnesty commission would hear applications on condition that people adhered to full disclosure on arms, military training, command structures, operations carried out, victims, and whether they co-operated with any political party or organs of state.
Ndebele also proposed a 14-day window period, during which people could hand over their illegal weapons, which would be followed by search-and-seize operations by the police and the army "to rid the province of arms and ammunition".
"KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most armed provinces in the country. These arms are being used for hijacking and robberies and other crimes, in between political violence," Ndebele said.
He said the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force had contributed immensely during similar operations in Mozambique, where they had recovered 467 000 AK-47 rifles, and in Angola, through Operation Shanela.
"We are confident that the president will accept this (proposal) so that when we talk about the (provincial) capital, no one has the capacity to talk of violence".
The IFP said it would comment on the amnesty proposal only once it had been formally presented to them as a party.
- Both Ndebele and his deputy, Zweli Mkhize, were nominated as candidates for the party's chairpersonship for Sunday's elections. Mkhize was also nominated to stand as deputy chairperson against Cape Town-based MP Ruth Bhengu.
Controversial businessman Don Mkhwanazi and current treasurer Mike Mabuyakhulu will contest the position of treasurer.
Current provincial secretary Sipho Gcabashe and Nathi Mthethwa will contest the position of provincial secretary of the party.
