|
Cosatu denies Zuma rift
15/04/2007 12:05 - (SA)
Johannesburg - There is no truth in media reports that Cosatu leaders have "dropped" their support for Jacob Zuma as a candidate for the ANC presidency, the union federation said on Sunday.
"There is no truth in the front-page story in today's Sunday Times, alleging that Cosatu leaders have demanded that the federation drop its support for Jacob Zuma as its preferred candidate for the presidency of the ANC," said Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven in a statement.
"No such discussion has taken place."
Craven said that following Cosatu's 9th national congress in September, it was resolved that the federation would identify leadership that was best suited to represent the working class.
"This will be discussed at a meeting of the central executive committee later this month.
"The discussion is around principles and programmes and only after these have been adopted will names be discussed," said Craven.
According to the newspaper, Cosatu leaders who attended a central executive committee meeting held at Cosatu's headquarters in February had expressed their reservations with regards to Zuma becoming ANC president.
The newspaper said unnamed Cosatu leaders told it that federation general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who two years ago said that a Zuma presidency "was an unstoppable tsunami", told the Cosatu executive he had never said that Zuma should be the next ANC president and suggested that the federation should consider an alternative candidate.
Vavi has long been a key Zuma supporter.
Vavi himself told the newspaper no names had been discussed.
"The discussion in Cosatu is still limited to the framework and to what we want corrected, what the problems are as we see them and what ideological content we need from the leadership collective," Vavi was quoted as saying.
The paper reported that the Cosatu leaders said there was growing pressure on Cosatu to officially back ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe.
- SAPA
|
News
