COSATU General Secretary Vavi has received support from the trade union federation amid reports that he is slated to be disciplined by the ANC for statements he has made in recent weeks., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Alliance resolutions were never met, says Vavi
Oct 29, 2013 | Natasha Marrian
Business Day
Suspended Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is disappointed with ANC ties, writes Natasha Marrian
THE governing alliance has largely functioned as a "vote-catching instrument", says suspended Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Dispensing with the doublespeak that alliance leaders often use to downplay their political differences, Mr Vavi describes Cosatu’s relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP ) bleakly.
In a joint interview with the Financial Times, Mr Vavi says that the alliance has not functioned since 1996.
"The paper accepts anything written on it," he says, referring to resolutions emerging from alliance meetings over the years. "The paper just keeps quiet and allows the pen to repeat the same thing."
In reality, Mr Vavi says, "nothing close" to the resolutions adopted when the allies met have been put in place.
Emphasising that he speaks in his personal capacity, he talks about the revolution having come to a crossroads — not least because of the 36.7% unemployment rate in the country according to the expanded definition — and a governing alliance driving an economy that is unable to arrest the situation. "If you go into 20 years with that situation, then many people will start to ask a question, who does this democracy serve?" he says, referring to next year’s 20th anniversary of South African democracy.
"It’s not serving the marginalised, the African and black majority ... if it doesn’t serve the working class, who does it serve?" says Mr Vavi.
To add to this, 19 years into democracy, the country faced another crisis: corruption.
He says from shebeens to "elite bars", everyone is concerned that those driving a corrupt agenda are not being held to account.
"If people know that at the top there is no accountability and there is no possibility that anybody can ever be held accountable for corruption … that is a crisis of accountability," he says.
Closer to home, in Cosatu, Mr Vavi says "tribalism and regionalism" have much to do with what he perceives as an orchestrated campaign to remove him from his post. "It is always at the leadership level where the most advanced cadres of the movement will want to use tribalism to divide workers," he says.
This was something emerging "very, very strongly" in the recent period, with the sole aim of defending the interests of the elite.
It also goes beyond Cosatu and extends to the government, where appointments from ministers to the judiciary affirm "regionalism".
Ironically, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, one of Cosatu’s largest affiliates whose remaining leaders are seen as part of the anti-Vavi group, over the weekend accused Mr Vavi’s supporters of taking a tribal approach in their strident defence of the embattled leader.
Mr Vavi’s most vocal supporter, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa general secretary Irvin Jim, also hails from the Eastern Cape.
Mr Vavi’s perceived foe in Cosatu, Sdumo Dlamini, seen as close to President Jacob Zuma, comes from KwaZulu-Natal.
Mr Vavi is clearly slighted by the reaction of fellow Cosatu leaders to his extramarital faux pas which is at the centre of his battle.
"I am astounded by the fact that the federation of the nature of Cosatu, who have found it very easy to forgive similar instances in the past of people making mistakes, have no appetite to accept the apology … of their own."
Mr Vavi is vague on a resolution to the impasse in the federation.
Despite being associated with a desire to jump ship and join a political party — several possible parties have been mentioned — he sees "winning Cosatu back" as an immediate solution.
The possibility of the federation splitting from the alliance appears unpalatable for now.
"That is when you hand over the ANC itself to the elite," Mr Vavi says. "If we decide that the ANC is gone and there is no more point of contesting it, then we say, no, let’s form a political party.
"If you decide that the SACP is gone, it’s no longer a vanguard... then you can come to that conclusion … a lot more people say that we can still contest," he says.
Mr Vavi still views the ANC’s Polokwane conference — which elected Mr Zuma in December 2007 — as an "absolute breakthrough, "from a policy point of view". He even bought a new suit for Mr Zuma’s inauguration.
But five years later, Mr Vavi is clearly disappointed.
His political future rests on a court process, and, critically, on whether Cosatu will acquiesce to a request from five of its affiliates to hold a special congress.
Mr Vavi’s future is uncertain. And this uncertainty may keep him on the margins as South Africa heads towards a milestone election in its 20th year of democracy.
Thursday, November 14 2013
Business Day LIVE
ANC set to suffer from apathy at polls, warns Vavi
BY NATASHA MARRIAN, 29 OCTOBER 2013, 05:50
SUSPENDED Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) chief Zwelinzima Vavi says the African National Congress (ANC) faces its toughest election "ever" next year, and the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) is set to gain most from its weakness.
In a wide-ranging joint interview with the Financial Times recently, Mr Vavi cited rampant corruption, a lack of accountability, tribalism and policy dithering as obstacles to the ANC surmounting "apathy" at the polls.
Mr Vavi is fighting for his political life against an attempt by Cosatu’s leadership to force him from his high-profile post after he admitted to an affair with a junior employee of the federation.
"I have no illusion that we’re going to be facing the most serious and daunting challenge in 2014," Mr Vavi said. "We’re going to be facing demoralisation. People will refuse to go and vote."
The ANC countered on Monday it was confident it would "pull out most voters" to participate.
"Those are his views, I don’t want to comment on that. What I can say is that the ANC is doing everything it can to get people to vote and vote for the ANC," said spokesman Keith Khoza.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, who Mr Vavi’s allies believe is driving the campaign against him, declined to comment. He said there were internal processes under way and these should be respected by everyone, including Mr Vavi.
While the ANC will point to its achievements over the past 20 years of democracy, Mr Vavi warned that its failure to deliver on its priorities in the previous poll would come back to haunt it.
Voting for Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and Mamphela Ramphele’s Agang SA would merely be a form of protest by some voters, he said. ANC supporters also did not have the appetite to vote for the DA.
Turning to the ANC’s adoption of the National Development Plan as a blueprint for economic and societal transformation over the next 20 years, Mr Vavi said this represented evidence of "doublespeak" by the ANC.
While the ANC had retained the main 15 pillars adopted at its Polokwane conference in 2007, the adoption of the NDP at Mangaung last year contradicted its stance. "Those things are standing in contradiction to one another, and it is going to lead to what I call policy paralysis," he said.
"It is a paralysis. That is not how you drive change in society. You need clarity in your policies first and you don’t need policies that contradict one another. And you need to get that clarity sent out to every investor that counts in South Africa."
He warned that the effect of divisions in Cosatu itself on the ANC’s election campaign would be "huge" as the federation was paralysed and in crisis. This left Cosatu and the alliance at a crossroads, but a poor showing at the polls may not be enough of a wake-up call for the movement.
Neither the loss of the Western Cape, nor the near-loss of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape had been enough to halt the ANC’s decline.
"It is not a wake-up call to many people. That’s why I have a sense that some people who came to be leaders of the ANC do not have a damn interest of the ANC at heart. They don’t care what will happen to it eventually, as long as they are still eating now. It is a narrow approach of looking at things," Mr Vavi said.
If the ANC were to drive the radical economic transformation promised at its policy conference last year, it would achieve the change South Africa needed, he said.
Sadtu denounces pro-Vavi campaign
BY KARL GERNETZKY, 28 OCTOBER 2013, 06:11
THE South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has poured cold water on a campaign within the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to reinstate suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
The union on Sunday denounced calls for a special congress and hit out at much of the pro-Vavi campaign as "tribalism".
The African National Congress (ANC) will again be calling millions of Cosatu members to campaign for the party ahead of the elections next year. But turmoil in the labour federation over Mr Vavi’s suspension for an affair with a junior employee has triggered warfare between affiliates and cast doubt on whether Cosatu will be prepared to fully flex its organisational muscle to the benefit of its tripartite alliance ally.
Sadtu, with 260,000 members, making it the federation’s fourth-largest affiliate, has supported Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini.
The union’s declaration on Sunday could indicate that many affiliates are losing patience with the continued manoeuvring within Cosatu for Mr Vavi’s fate to be decided by anything except normal disciplinary procedures.
Sadtu national and provincial leaders concluded their three-day national council on Sunday in Kempton Park, the last such meeting before both the national elections and the union’s own elections as its national congress is likely to take place towards the end of next year.
Despite Sadtu’s declaration on Sunday of unambiguous support for both the Cosatu leadership and the ANC, the union has itself not escaped the turmoil in Cosatu.
Politics and education again vied for focus with Sadtu’s meeting taking place without president Thobile Ntola. Mr Ntola has been on special leave since August after he gave Mr Vavi a platform to address a Sadtu event in the Eastern Cape. There have been accusations his suspension was engineered to remove him from participating in Cosatu meetings to decide on Mr Vavi’s fate.
Delivering the declaration of the council meeting, Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said it had resolved that "Sadtu should support the decision of the (Cosatu) central executive committee in suspending the general secretary and the staff member".
He said "all union members and leaders must respect and adhere to the current decision … and allow the law of natural justice to prevail".
Mr Maluleke said there had been no "revolt" in the union, with no structure defying the national leadership before or during the council. This followed reports that many structures, particularly in the Eastern Cape, wanted Mr Ntola’s suspension immediately overturned.
Sadtu on Sunday unanimously adopted a resolution that its national executive committee would develop an approach to address the situation in the province.
"Sadtu should further vow to stand firmly in defence of Cosatu under current leadership" and "denounces any call for a special congress. Sadtu must condemn all signs of tribalism that seem to accompany those in Cosatu who have employed magnanimous enthusiasms to protect (Mr Vavi)."
Delivering the presidential address to the council on Friday, Sadtu deputy president Magope Maphila, did not mince words while saying provincial structures had no authority to overturn a suspension.
He criticised the rise of "personalities" and those "who act like pop stars" in front of TV cameras.
Cosatu close to deciding on disciplinary action against Vavi
BY KARL GERNETZKY, 27 OCTOBER 2013, 16:25
Business Day Live
THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is close to finalising internal disciplinary processes against suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, and "will no longer stay quiet" on lies about the federation, Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said on Friday.
Speaking at the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) annual general council in Kempton Park, Mr Dlamini said the labour federation was capable of defending against ideological threats from outside and within, saying "Cosatu will not split".
"If it was going to split it would have split already," he said.
Cosatu’s largest affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) heads to a special national congress in December to mull its continued role in the alliance, with an implicit threat that such a decision rests on the ultimate fate of Mr Vavi.
Mr Dlamini said on Friday the federation "had been patient" but "we are not going to be quiet anymore because the danger is that members get confused". The union "would not be malicious" but needed to sort itself out so "we can come out united and confront the real enemy … white capital".
He denied allegations that he distributed a "spy report" ahead of a Cosatu meeting resulting in Mr Vavi’s suspension. Despite threats at the September central executive committee (CEC), it had been successful, he said.
There had, however, been a three-hour delay in the September CEC as some unions wanted a motion of no confidence brought against him due to the claims around the report, he said.
"I told them to bring it on but then we will prove to you the president did not distribute the document. The one who distributed the document is the one crying foul," he said.
Leaders of Sadtu structures from across South Africa were meeting until Sunday to discuss union concerns, including the continued question around making teaching an essential service and the union’s role in supporting the ANC in 2014’s elections.
Delivering the presidential address, Sadtu deputy president Magope Maphila appealed for organisational unity, and in referring to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said Sadtu would not allow itself to be threatened by "our own version of Amcu (Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union)".
Despite a threat of Sadtu members who saw themselves as "super revolutionaries" breaking away, all evidence showed that in regions that may have caused concern were in fact "a no go area for the aspirant, opportunities and parasitic private sector Amcu which we doubt will even make it into the collective bargaining chambers," said Mr Maphila.
The union will continue to hold its members to the Sadtu constitution, he said, criticising those who forgot they were part of Sadtu "when faced with television cameras".
Sadtu president Thobile Ntola was suspended in August, reportedly for allowing Mr Vavi to address a meeting of its Eastern Cape region.
Deputy chairman of the South African Communist Party Thulas Nxesi on Friday called on Cosatu to "get its house in order", saying that internal disciplinary matters should follow due process and union problems be kept out of the public eye.
"It is opportunistic and completely unacceptable when we hear some comrades who are threatening to break away from the union and form splinter groups for their own vested gains," he said.
Worrying times for the ANC as its alliance teeters
Oct 24, 2013 | Natasha Marrian
Events unfolding in Cosatu pose a clear danger to the one-party hegemony enjoyed by the ANC, writes Natasha Marrian
THE African National Congress (ANC) is worried. Events unfolding in the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) pose a clear danger to the one-party hegemony enjoyed by the party for the past 20 years.
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim, delivering the Joe Slovo Memorial Lecture in the Eastern Cape on Sunday, drew a line in the sand for the party. He told ANC, South African Communist Party (SACP) and Cosatu members that the ANC did not regard black workers as "full human beings".
"Our bosses and the ANC government want us to survive on low, savage and violent colonial wages, and meanwhile we must remain humble, be gentle, nonviolent and easy to manipulate and handle during strikes.
"They are so convinced we are subhuman beings who must be happy with our poverty wages," said Jim.
He also said that the SACP had been made irrelevant by the presence of its leaders in the government.
Strong words from Jim, who is leading Numsa (a large Cosatu affiliate) into a special national congress in December to mull its continued role in the alliance. Decisions there will be strongly influenced by the fate of suspended Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. The domino effect of Vavi’s possible removal could be catastrophic for the ANC.
While Jim’s opponents have been speculating that he has been ready to split from the alliance for months, his comments on Sunday have cemented that view. The true danger for the ANC would be Numsa aligning itself with new radical leftist formations now active in the political space — such as Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), or perhaps the Workers and Socialist Party, which was founded after the labour unrest in the mining sector last year.
An ANC task team and a motley crew of former Cosatu leaders are now hard at work in an attempt to broker a deal to prevent further descent into a situation that could become untenable for the ANC. Rumours of deals to appease Vavi and others are rife, with talk of a possible deployment and other such enticements. But there is a sense that it may be too late for such a pact.
If it were up to Vavi’s opponents in the federation, his removal would be a done deal by now, but for the intervention by the ANC and former federation bosses.
Malema would benefit greatly from any alliance with Numsa. He is the driving force behind his fighters, but no strong, credible ANC leaders are willing to join his party yet. At present, his party at best risks suffering the same fate as the Congress of the People — unless some serious alliances, with strong organisational muscle, are formed. Numsa and the EFF would make cosy bedfellows and pose a formidable challenge to the ANC.
ANC provinces are in a mess. The ANC’s traditional stronghold, Limpopo, is limping its way towards a delayed provincial congress; North West has a serious leadership crisis; and the national leadership no longer trusts the party’s most organisationally sound province, Gauteng.
The ANC Youth League is also hobbling along, rebuilding the structures that were obliterated under Malema’s leadership. A gaffe-prone president doesn’t help.
A rudderless, divided Cosatu at risk of a split with its largest affiliate is therefore cause for serious concern.
The next three months and how events in Cosatu play out are critical for the ANC and the alliance ahead of the general elections next year.
Numsa’s choices will not be easy, particularly as they may have to be made before Vavi’s fate is decided. The union is relying on the Cosatu special congress next year to remove those it sees as wanting to deliver a pliant federation to the ANC, and bring Vavi back into the fold.
"Where do we go from here, then?" asked Jim on Sunday. "It is very clear that the South African black and African working class are faced with two extreme options." Succumb or fight were the options he outlined.
"I am convinced Comrade Slovo would have no problem in deciding which way to go: to continue to bravely and fearlessly soldier on in the fight for a socialist republic of South Africa."
This will be cause for sleepless nights for the ANC; it could mark the beginning of it losing its grip on power.
• Marrian is political editor.
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