The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for a special meeting next week to ”discuss and finalise” the fate of its president Willie Madisha, reported the Star on Friday.
The newspaper said it had learnt that a memo — dated for Thursday and which had been signed by general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi– had been forwarded to Cosatu affiliates informing them of a special central executive committee (CEC) meeting for October 4.
The memo apparently says the meeting will ”discuss and finalise” the issues surrounding Madisha, said the paper.
The newspaper said a provincial Cosatu leader had told it that it was clear that the CEC meeting would fire Madisha.
The CEC meeting was originally scheduled for November.
Cosatu deputy president S’dumo Dlamini told the Star the October CEC meeting had been ”specially convened to finalise the R500 000 matter”.
Earlier this month, Madisha came under fire from his own executive for the way he handled the matter of a R500 000 ”donation” to the South African Communist Party (SACP).
At the end of August, Madisha and a witness told police they delivered a R500 000 donation to SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande in 2002.
Nzimande later denied ever receiving the donation, allegedly made by businessman Charles Modise.
An SACP task team has found no credible evidence that the donation had ever existed.
On September 17, a special Cosatu CEC meeting was held in Kempton Park.
At a media briefing, Vavi was particularly critical of the public statements Madisha had made on the donation issue.
At the time, Vavi said the next special CEC session would be held in November to discuss ”corrective measures” about the issue.
”We are going to take corrective measures, and not punitive measures. We are not driven by vengeance, and we hope our movement is not exposed to any divisions,” he said at the time. – Sapa