Bheki Mtolo accused Nehawu members of being responsible for service delivery failures earlier this year.
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The ANC has moved to ease tensions with alliance partners over the composition of the government of national unity (GNU) and to head off a R2 million lawsuit brought against its KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, by one of Cosatu’s largest affiliates.
On Monday, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula and Mtolo met the leadership of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) to discuss the lawsuit, brought after Mtolo accused its members of being responsible for service delivery failures at its political school earlier this year.
Mtolo agreed to apologise publicly and withdraw his comments, while the union agreed to drop the defamation case it had brought against him, with both sides committing to dealing with issues through alliance structures in future.
At a briefing held at Luthuli House later in the day, Mbalula confirmed that he had met Mtolo, Nehawu president Mike Shihgange and other union leaders to defuse the situation and avoid the matter ending up in court.
Mbalula said the “robust” but “cordial” meeting had agreed that Mtolo would issue an “unconditional and immediate public apology” for his comments, which were “unfortunate” and “overboard”. Mbalula said Mtolo had not been forced to apologise, but agreed to do so “after a process of engagement” with the leadership of Nehawu and Cosatu over the comments.
He said Mtolo’s comments — made at the Nehawu political school in response to criticisms of the unity government by South African Communist Party (SACP) secretary general Solly Mapaila — were a “mistake”.
The agreement with Newahu was a “breakthrough” in terms of dealing with the relations between the ANC and its alliance partners in the wake of the “damaging” comments.
“We agreed that members of the alliance and by extension their affiliates, are independent organisation that are well within their rights in expressing dissenting views on the policy positions and decisions of the ANC,” Mbalula said.
“However, the alliance partners have always differed on a variety of issues and we have always managed to engage on issues by ensuring that the space for political engagements remains open. There is no reason that we cannot address the current challenges in a similar manner.”
Turning to Mapaila’s labelling of the ANC as a “sellout” for working with the Democratic Alliance in the national unity government, Mbalula said this was “unhelpful” and that his criticisms should be raised within the appropriate structures.
While dissenting views were acceptable, “personal attacks and labelling” were not, Mbalula said, adding that Mapaila’s claim that President Cyril Ramaphosa led a neoliberal faction in the ANC was not correct.
He invited Mapaila to “debate” his suggestion within the alliance structures that the ANC had sold out.
“We are not at each other’s throats. Let us be cautious. Let us be respectful towards each other … Let us not talk out of turn,” he said.
Mbalula said a scheduled meeting of the alliance political committee would be held at which the partners would address a number of issues and that the secretariat would identify the issues for discussion within weeks.
“We have long agreed to call an alliance political committee meeting. The secretariat will meet and shape the agenda. We are not meeting because the SACP secretary general has raised a view vehemently and consistently that the GNU is a sellout position,” he said.
“We will meet at the right time. There is no crisis.”
Mbalula said the ANC had decided to convene the GNU as a tactical intervention to safeguard political power after losing its outright majority in the national elections on 29 May and that it would not be “permanent.”
“The GNU will change over time,” he said.
But the GNU was working and ministers were delivering on their mandates across party lines. “There is stability in the country. There is no load shedding. The lights are on. The government is functioning. The rand is stabilising. Jobs will be created.”
Mbalula said ministers who were “sleeping on the job” should not complain about being outshone by their colleagues from other parties.
“If people are sleeping on the job, don’t blame it on the GNU, blame it on them. Stop blaming others who are doing the job to the best of their ability to showcase what they are capable of doing for South Africa,” Mbalula said.
“The GNU is working. It is stable. The lights are on and we are attracting investment. That is what is important for us going forward. We will debate neoliberalism with Comrade Solly, but if Comrade Solly goes and labels us, we will resist. The GNU was not imposed on the NEC. It was debated, informed by a strategic perspective.”
Mbalula said South Africa had “moved on” and accepted the GNU, while “we are still arguing with each other”.
Shihange and Nehawu KwaZulu-Natal secretary Andile Zulu denied claims that the union’s structures in the province were mobilising for it to force the ANC to work with the Umkhonto we Sizwe party and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Shihgange said that although individual union members were free to join any political party, the labour organisation remained in the alliance and in support of the ANC.