Members of the tripartite alliance members have denied reports that an announcement would be made on Wednesday on a proposed commission of inquiry into claims of a plot against Jacob Zuma.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) spokesperson Paul Notyhawa said the federation’s central executive committee (CEC) will meet on the matter on Wednesday.
Its stance will be made known on Thursday.
”No way is there going to be an announcement. The CEC is going to debate that today,” he said.
The resolutions include Cosatu calling on President Thabo Mbeki to ensure that the corruption charges against axed deputy president Zuma are dropped and that he is reinstated.
African National Congress spokesperson Steyn Speed said an announcement on the commission is only likely after the alliance partners — the ANC, South African Communist Party, Cosatu and the South African National Civic Organisation — have met. No meeting was scheduled for Wednesday.
SACP spokesperson Kaizer Mohau also denied the announcement, saying his party will only hold talks about the commission on Friday.
Mbeki suggested the commission in a letter to an alliance meeting last week that was convened to discuss the Zuma saga.
He said the alliance should set up the commission to establish whether ”members of the ANC and the broad democratic movement, including the president of the ANC, have been and are involved in a conspiracy targeted at marginalising or destroying deputy president Zuma”.
Some members of the alliance, including Cosatu, believe there is a politically inspired conspiracy to stop Zuma from becoming the next president of the ANC because he is seen to be too close to the working class. — Sapa