There is a movement within the African National Congress to push for a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma later this year, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Friday.
“Counter-revolutionaries” within the leading party were moving to “recall” the president, said Mathandeki Nhlapo, general secretary of Samwu, which is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade unions.
At a briefing, he said the group consisted of “progressive elements” within the leadership of the ANC — which is in an alliance with Cosatu and the South African Communist Party.
Nhlapo would not name these individuals, but said it was the same group that leaked information on a planned coup on former president Thabo Mbeki’s government before the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007. At the time, a report was circulated claiming that businessmen Tokyo Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa were behind an attempt to remove Mbeki from the presidency.
Nhlapo said the people who leaked the report were responsible for the possible vote of no confidence against Zuma. They wanted to “cause chaos” in the country.
“Those people are still within the movement, but they are in the way of what we are doing,” he said. “We need to crush those people, and brutally so.”
Nhlapo said there was “very, very serious” political tension within the ANC-led tripartite alliance.
He said Samwu, which “demands” socialism, would defend Zuma.
“Some elements in the ANC want to make changes prematurely,” he said.
“The ANC cannot be hijacked as we now see happening. We will deal with corruption that is killing the ANC at this time.”
Growing weary
Earlier ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said the ANC was growing of weary of Cosatu.
Mthembu conceded that Cosatu was causing instability within its alliance with the ANC and the South African Communist Party.
“Taking pot-shots at the ANC and its government shows signs by Cosatu of veering toward oppositional politics and not sticking to alliance politics and traditions,” Mthembu said.
The ANC’s frustration with Cosatu boiled over after the union’s general secretary on Thursday accused a faction of the ANC leadership of wanting to oust ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe before his term ended.
Mthembu said Cosatu had “rubbished and undermined” the contents of President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget and ANC policies.
He questioned Cosatu’s motivation for this, accusing it of not raising these concerns with the ANC, but rather in the media.
However, Vavi complained on Thursday that progress made during alliance discussions did not filter into the ANC government’s policy. — Sapa