Failure to elect an African National Congress (ANC) leadership that respects the party’s branches and the tripartite alliance would lead to a right-wing victory within the ruling party, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Saturday.
Vavi was addressing the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) 10th congress in Durban.
He said: ”If we falter and elect a leadership that is not committed, it will be to allow the right-wing to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”
Vavi said Cosatu would lobby for a ”leadership collective that respects the branches and the [tripartite] alliance”.
He said the ANC did not need a leadership who ”sit in their air-conditioned offices, completely indifferent to our suffering as workers”.
He praised the ANC for the resolutions taken at its recent policy conference, but said that policy decisions would be meaningless unless implemented by the ANC leadership that would be elected at the upcoming 52nd national congress, to be held in Limpopo province in December.
”We have an interest in the outcome of the conference as workers and as members of the ANC,” he said.
Referring to the recent dismissal of deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, he said the decision to axe her ”sends the message that the government values mediocrity”.
”I think that firing that minister sends a message in the backdrop of untouchables of deadwood ministers that people remain in positions irrespective of their performance.”
He urged the delegates at the congress not to keep silent when their leaders fail them and ”follow them like sheep”.
”If the leader says he has not seen anyone dying of Aids, we must not repeat that message.”
At a press conference after speaking to delegates, he said he ”supports the prerogative of the president to make a decision”, but that ”somebody who plays a strong role should be celebrated”.
Asked about an alleged ”smear campaign” against Cosatu and South African Communist Party leadership, Vavi said: ”There is a credibility cloud over my head. There are people hard at work to discredit the leadership of Cosatu, the SACP and even some members of the ANC.”
On Friday, SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande told delegates that there was a smear campaign against the SACP and Cosatu leadership. — Sapa