Cape Town-131126. ANC Treasurer, Zweli Mkhize, speaking at the Cape Town Press Club, hosted at Kelvin Grove this afternoon. Reporter: Marianne Merten.Photo: jason boud Cape Town-131126. ANC Treasurer, Zweli Mkhize, speaking at the Cape Town Press Club, hosted at Kelvin Grove this afternoon. Reporter: Marianne Merten.Photo: jason boud
Johannesburg - The ANC acknowledged yesterday that it was worried by the current turmoil within Cosatu, with the ruling party’s treasurer-general, Zweli Mkhize, expressing the hope that unity could prevail.
“The ANC is not comfortable [with the turmoil],” Mkhize told the Cape Town Press Club yesterday.
While he stopped short of commenting on a possible split, Mkhize did say that groups within the tripartite alliance – which includes the ANC, the SACP and Cosatu – should coalesce around what was good in the National Development Plan (NDP) rather than focus on their differences and disagreements.
Mkhize specifically called for dissenting parties – which are led by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) – to back the controversial plan drawn up by a team of experts under the leadership of Planning Minister Trevor Manuel.
He was reacting to questions put to him at the club yesterday after Numsa’s president, Cedric Gina, announced that he had resigned.
It is understood that Gina was unhappy with his union’s support for embattled Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who was suspended for having an inappropriate relationship with a colleague, but believed by his supporters to be a victim of his outspoken stance on corruption in the ANC alliance.
Significantly, Vavi has also been a vocal critic of the NDP.
Gina is also known to have been at loggerheads with Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim, who has doggedly backed nationalisation of the mines while bitterly opposing the NDP. Gina also criticised Jim for turning down the chance of standing for the ANC national executive committee.
It was clear yesterday that the struggle within the union over Numsa’s support of Vavi has also spilled over into the politics of the ANC’s dedication to implement the pro-business and pro-investment NDP.
Mkhize, who was elected ANC treasurer-general at Mangaung in December last year, said: “The ANC is not comfortable, because it [Cosatu] is part of the alliance and the bulk of the people… play roles inside the ANC.
“It is always a matter of concern where there are issues… not resolved.
“We should… get over the difficulty.” Without naming him, Mkhize took issue with Jim by calling on all to rally behind the NDP.
The plan is seen as a running economic policy sore by the rump of Cosatu and is a core issue behind the threat by Numsa to break away from the tripartite alliance.
Numsa has already signalled that it is ready to start up a workers’ movement outside of Cosatu and also has hinted that it could look to find a home in a new political party. It announced in September that it would not provide about R2 million in funding to the ANC in next year’s national election.
There are also now doubts that Cosatu as a whole will contribute to the ANC’s election funding. This is understood to be in the region of R8m.
Gina told Bloomberg that there was “too much bureaucracy in the union [Numsa] and as leaders we get ignored or told we are being influenced by outside forces”.
He opposed a split from Cosatu and by implication a withdrawal from the ANC.
The news agency reported Stellenbosch politics professor Pierre du Toit as saying that Cosatu’s power base was fracturing.
“Developments within Numsa may potentially lead to the most significant realignment of South African politics since 1994,” he said. - Business Report