Cosatu and the ANC want the focus of the ruling party’s forthcoming national general council (NGC) to be on policy issues, not leadership squabbles, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
They also called on all components in the alliance, “including the leagues”, not to air their differences in public, but to use internal processes.
“Both formations are committed to ensure that the NGC, as a policy forum, retains its intended focus, which is to review progress in taking forward the movement’s policies, and does not get diverted by divisive issues such as the untimely 2012 leadership question,” said the secretaries general of Cosatu and the ANC, Zwelinzima Vavi and Gwede Mantashe.
The move appeared to be an attempt at avoiding a repeat of the 2007 Polokwane conference, which was dominated by a leadership tussle between former president Thabo Mbeki and present ANC president Jacob Zuma.
“In this regard we agreed that both organisations must create an atmosphere where such discussions will be conducted in a positive environment.
‘Internal processes’
“We call on all components of the alliance, including the leagues, to reassert the long-standing tradition of allowing internal processes of the movement to deal with any differences and concerns, and not take such issues to the public in an untimely manner.”
They asked alliance leadership and other mass democratic movement formations not to make comments that would “spoil the environment” they hoped to create in the NGC, to be held in Durban in September.
Over the last few weeks ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has spoken out about frustrations with redistribution, and his interpretation of mine nationalisation according to the Freedom Charter, which says resources shall belong to all in the land.
Without mentioning Zuma by name, he warned high-ranking leaders could easily be removed.
The statement, issued after a meeting between Cosatu and ANC leaders on Monday, said they had also agreed to meet before November to discuss points of difference in the alliance.
Common ground
This came after they examined a presentation of the Cosatu central executive committee discussion paper on the alliance.
The ANC felt they had a lot of common ground, but the two would “isolate” differences and discuss them further at the planned meeting.
“Areas of divergence of view will be isolated and further discussed after the ANC national general council.”
The ANC called the meeting after Cosatu said their alliance, which also includes the South African Communist Party, was dysfunctional.
Cosatu also offered an apology to the ANC over comments directed at the ruling party and Zuma during the recent public-service strike.
“Such songs and insults do not reflect the traditions of [Cosatu] and we understand these have a potential of taking focus away from the real and genuine demands by the public sector workers.”
The ANC said it accepted this apology.
Both parties agreed that a “balanced assessment” of the strike was needed to avoid such occurrences in future.
The strike dragged on for about three weeks before being suspended while employees considered the government’s latest offer.
The military had to be sent to help at hospitals, and in Gauteng in particular, nurses abandoned babies. – Sapa