A faction in the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) tried to discredit Willie Madisha, the union’s president, when it leaked information that he was ordered to repay union money used to settle his tax bill, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Monday.
In 2002, the faction also sought to discredit Thulas Nxesi, the general secretary of Sadtu, Cosatu’s third-biggest union, said Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu’s general secretary.
Nxesi, who was exonerated by a Cosatu commission of inquiry on Monday, was accused of misusing the union’s resources and of not being a member in good standing on the eve of Sadtu’s national congress in 2002.
”The commission found that there were no truths to the allegations against the general secretary,” Vavi said, adding that Sadtu’s national executive committee (NEC) welcomes and accepts the commission’s findings.
”They found no evidence whatsoever to back the allegations that were made,” he told reporters in Johannesburg after Sadtu’s four-day NEC meeting at the weekend.
He said Sadtu’s ”smooth running” suffered because of the allegations against Nxesi and Madisha, who is also Cosatu’s president.
Sadtu admitted this week that it paid Madisha’s R14 600 tax bill last year, but officials said the payment has since been converted into a repayable loan, the Sunday Times reported.
The Sunday Times report created the impression that Madisha was ”caught with his hands in till of the workers”, Vavi said, putting the actual cost at R14 061.
”Nothing could be further from the truth. Any person reading that [Sunday Times] report would have thought that this president has been caught with his hands in the till of the workers,” he said.
Madisha, who lives in Polokwane, receives a R3 000 monthly travel allowance from Sadtu and his salary from the Department of Education. He is not a full-time union employee, Vavi said.
The allowance, which was initially R2 500 per month, has risen to R3 000.
”Regrettably, since the president is not an employee of the union, the union did not deduct tax from this allowance. After two years, the union auditors pointed out that this was an error.
”The union decided since the allowance constituted a benefit to the president, he must pay the taxes,” Vavi said.
However, Sadtu has since paid the money to the South African Revenue Service. Madisha will repay the money to the union, Vavi said.
After the weekend’s meeting, all the union’s leaders condemned the faction and made a new commitment to unite the organisation, Vavi said.
”Every leader of the NEC — individually and collectively — made a new commitment to work for unity in the union.
”Everyone agreed to communicate with one another [and that] they would not allow rumour-mongering, and everyone felt that the members are far more important than themselves.
”We feel very good as the leadership of the federation to achieve that [unity]. We will be obviously monitoring that going forward,” Vavi said. — Sapa