The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) have vowed to campaign for a change in the way the tripartite alliance operates.
They said on Thursday the status quo in the alliance — comprising Cosatu, the SACP and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) — encouraged opportunism.
”The days of collective alliance campaigning for elections, but decisions being left exclusively at the hands of the ANC, are now over,” SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande said.
He was briefing reporters in Johannesburg after a bilateral meeting between Cosatu and the SACP.
”We need to radically change the manner of operation of the alliance, its protocols, method of deployment, the question of accountability of government to the alliance, the effective role of alliance partners in governance and the possibility of an electoral pact and quotas for alliance partners in the ANC lists.”
He said the way the alliance functioned at the moment made it possible for members with ambitions for certain positions to jump ship from one alliance partner to the other.
Cosatu and the SACP would campaign for changes and engage with the ANC at the same time.
”We are not going to whinge … But we are going to build working-class power on the ground. It does not mean we can’t engage with the ANC,” Nzimande said.
He said the SACP and Cosatu agreed that in order for the alliance to exist an ongoing mobilisation programme should be implemented at the ground level.
”The summit noted that apart from national alliance secretariat meetings, the alliance hardly exists on the ground. The building of a strong alliance requires principally strong working-class organisation and mobilisation.”
Nzimande said the current state of the alliance did not favour the ANC.
”We hope that the collective leadership will meet and engage on these matters.”
Nzimande said engaging the ANC did not rule out other options such as discussions and further decisions within the SACP.
After the SACP conference, crucial decisions may be taken, including the SACP fielding its own candidates in the next election.
Both organisations said the ANC leadership did not reflect its core constituency.
Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said their congress gave them a mandate and set up clear demands and time frames to change the status quo in the ruling party.
He said workers wanted the ANC leadership to reflect on themselves.
”If that is not happening, we will meet in June to decide on the way forward … to determine our support for the ANC, if there is any,” Vavi said.
”You cannot have a liberation movement without working-class representation … We need to make sure our ANC is our ANC, not their ANC,” Vavi said.
The organisation also agreed to actively prepare and participate in the forthcoming ANC conference.
”We regard this conference as absolutely important in that it will point the way on, among other things, the seriousness with which we want to change the colonial character of our economy …”
The meeting noted some positive developments in government policy.
These included the setting of clear targets to reduce unemployment, new programmes to fight HIV/Aids and the recognition of the important role of public servants.
”Indeed, many of these shifts are as a direct result of intensified working-class struggles,” Nzimande said.
Unemployment was still a crisis and the state of income inequalities had worsened.
”The summit also committed itself to intensify efforts to organise the more vulnerable workers, especially farm workers, domestic workers and the growing casualty working class,” Nzimande said. — Sapa