A vitriolic four-page attack by trade union leader Zwelinzima Vavi on African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula this week exposed a tripartite alliance hopelessly divided on the issue of Zimbabwe.
In a counterblast to a statement by Mbalula on the ANC website, entitled Signalling left, turning right, Vavi accused the youth league leader of “childish schoolboy misrepresentation of facts” and said he should be “ashamed of himself”.
His statement was the latest episode in a drama-filled fortnight. President Thabo Mbeki, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary general Vavi and South African Communist Party secretary general Blade Nzimande have been sucked into the debate, revealing a split over how to approach the rights crisis in South Africa’s northern neighbour.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama, Cosatu representative Patrick Craven and Mazibuko Jara of the SACP all stressed, however, that the debate did not imply a split, and that it highlighted the need for discussion on Zimbabwe in the alliance.
The outbursts follow an ill-fated fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe last month by Cosatu leaders who were deported for allegedly failing to comply with immigration rules.
The ANC issued a statement questioning Cosatu’s motives. Mbeki then castigated the federations adventurism and grandstanding when South Africa was seeking to bring about a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe.
Mbalula’s document, published last Friday, commented on the “coincidence of the positions of Cosatu on Zimbabwe with those of the domestic and international right-wing forces, despite Cosatu describing themselves as left”.
Mbalula compared Cosatu’s approach with “the International Republican Institute and other standard-bearers of anti-left policies throughout the years”. He insisted Zimbabwe was not a dictatorship and did not suffer from a human rights crisis.
“It is clear that Zimbabwe is a ‘dictatorship’ of a special type. It has regular multiparty elections in keeping with the prescripts contained in the National Constitution. It has elected national and local legislatures in which the opposition has a strong presence,” Mbalula wrote.
In its response, Cosatu said it was disappointed that its bona fides had been questioned and that aspersions had been cast on it.
“Unfortunately the Mbalula article is a systematic attempt to … cast aspersions. Regrettably he does so on behalf of the ANC, that has a responsibility to lead the alliance towards a more constructive engagement and more constructive management of differences at the public level,” Vavi replied.
He said Cosatu had obligations of solidarity with workers in Zimbabwe, and would continue to speak out for them.
He challenged the ANC leadership to clarify whether it agreed that the Mugabe government still represented a progressive national liberation movement, and whether it condoned violence and disregard of the law.
“Mbalula’s words are a chilling warning that events in Zimbabwe could be a foretaste of what could happen in South Africa if the author had his way. Civil society groups and trade unions could be accused of guilt by association with imperialist forces, which would then be the pretext for the sort of attacks on human rights we see in Zimbabwe.”
He said the only reason Cosatu would not sue for defamation was that the article was too childish to warrant a serious response.
In a show of support for Cosatu on Wednesday, the SACP posted a statement challenging Mbalula’s claims and accusing him of trying to “disparage and even intimidate any principled, progressive assessment of Zimbabwe’s government and ruling party”.
“Mbalula portrays any critique as the witting or unwitting ally of an imperialist agenda,” said Jara.
Buti Manamela, Young Communist League secretary, also threw the support of young communists behind Cosatu and the SACP in an article for Umsebenzi Online.
Manamela said Mbalula’s attack on Cosatu was consistent with the trade union federation being accused of being right wing when it exposed unemployment and poverty, pushed for provision of anti-retroviral drugs and supported the basic income grant.