Thabo Mohlala provides an account of Thursday’s proceedings at the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union’s (Sadtu) 7th National Congress held in Boksburg, which ended in pandemonium.
Just before he delivered his hard-hitting speech, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, broke with tradition and prevented delegates from ushering him to the podium with a ‘revolutionary’ song.
As if setting the scene, Mantashe said he wanted them to sing at the end of his speech because they might not like what he was going to say. True to form, the trade unionist with 25 years experience in the labour movement did not mince his words. He told the delegates that Sadtu has neither the “clarity nor commitment to the education of the black child in general”.
While delegates were still mulling over this, the diminutive unionist went for the jugular. Referring to the recent controversial public service strike that heightened tensions among the components of South Africa’s political alliance (Cosatu, SACP and the ANC), Mantashe said: “During the recent strike white children in general and Afrikaner children in particular continued to learn — It is a truth that you may not acknowledge openly in a Sadtu national conference but it is a fact that children of many teachers go to former Model C schools and during the 21-day strike their children continued to learn.”
He hardly paused after the last sentence before some sections of the delegates from the back of the hall shouted him down and spontaneously broke into a song to register their displeasure.
Sadtu president, Thobile Ntola leapt to the microphone to calm them down. “Comrades, comrades, please shut up your mouths —… this is the national congress, can we keep quiet and allow the SG (secretary general) of the ANC to speak, please?
But, to his surprise, his plea was met with an angry and resounding “No”. He said he viewed the delegates’ behaviour as an indication of how much work still needs to be done to educate members on how to engage on robust political and ideological debates without silencing those who differ with them.
Some senior party and alliance leaders such as Blade Nzimande were clearly embarrassed by the delegates’ brazen defiance and could hardly intervene. General secretary of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa, Irvin Jim, desperately tried to placate the dissenters. But he too failed. Ultimately some calm was restored and Mantashe returned to the podium, still unrepentant.
He said: “when comrades heckle me, they want me to express views about them [and] if that is the issue I would suggest that Sadtu in future does not invite me.” He told them that alliance partners need one another and that none can exist without other components. “If you are angry now, don’t cut your nose to spite your face,” added Mantashe. He said Sadtu should go back to basics for it to become the revolutionary teachers’ union it should be.
After Mantashe’s speech, in what was seen as contrived damage control, chairpersons of the nine provinces apologised to him, as an ANC official. But even then some provinces qualified their “apologies”, suggesting there was still deep-seated resentment that may resurface again if not addressed promptly.
On Wednesday Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga reportedly received similar treatment, signaling growing hostility of Sadtu members towards the ANC and government. Some delegates, who refused to speak on record, reckoned Mantashe had misjudged the mood of congress.
One said: “He cannot accuse us of sending our children to Model C schools, while they refused to meet our 8% salary offer. We find this outrageous because most teachers here do not earn enough to send their children to those posh schools let alone feed them. We are not taken seriously. We earn pittance,” he said angrily.
The conference ends on Saturday with a rally at Johannesburg Stadium to celebrate the union’s 20th anniversary.