The African National Congress Women’s League’s (ANCWL) decision to postpone its planned Thursday meeting with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has deprived the latter of an opportunity to explain its general secretary’s gender remarks.
”The meeting would have been a valuable opportunity to clear the air and dispel the misunderstandings about remarks made by the Cosatu general secretary [Zwelinzima Vavi] on Sunday December 9 2007,” Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement on Thursday.
While addressing a South African Communist Party rally in Bekkersdal at the weekend, Vavi said those advocating 50/50 representation in the ANC were legendary womanisers who wanted more women in power for sinister reasons.
Vavi’s remarks were met with criticism from the ANC’s national executive committee — which demanded an apology, saying Vavi’s remarks were an insult to women.
However, Craven said that Vavi’s remarks were blown out of proportion.
”Cosatu reiterates that he did not in any way mean to insult women or ANC members, as has been incorrectly suggested. He was criticising the way in which certain people have been opportunistically exploiting women’s demands for equal representation to try to influence the women’s league into changing their decision to nominate Jacob Zuma for the presidency of the ANC,” he said.
The union remains firmly committed to the call for quotas for women in all structures of the movement.
ANCWL secretary general Bathabile Dlamini said the organisation is still keen to hear Cosatu’s explanation, but could not honour Thursday’s meeting because of logistical reasons. ”Our members are scattered all over the country at the moment and we could not bring them together.”
The league will meet Cosatu early next year. — Sapa