Vavi: Cosatu remains loyal to ANC
2011-11-24 20:24
Johannesburg - Cosatu's central executive committee remains unshaken in its support for the ANC leadership elected in Polokwane, general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on Thursday.
However, he warned that the revolution faced a "serious threat" from a "new tendency of tenderpreneurs" which had to be "exposed and isolated".
"We need to defend the leadership of ANC collectively elected in Polokwane against that new tendency that put it [ANC] on the back foot," he told reporters in Johannesburg.
He said Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) leaders had spent considerable time in the past two days discussing the building of political unity within its ranks.
"We have slipped up on the question of unity and we are confronting it. We wanted to take this head-on and not sweep anything under the carpet," Vavi said.
"It's time to call a spade a spade and confront one another as leadership and ask why we are seemingly moving in different directions."
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said some members were too occupied with gossip, rumour-mongering, character assassination, pigeon-holing of leadership and pre-empting embargoed decisions.
This ultimately damaged Cosatu, he said.
However, Cosatu was not yet in a state of complete collapse of cohesion and unity, said Dlamini.
Cosatu has been battling its own succession contest with Vavi announcing he would not stand for re-election in 2012, but later saying he would let members decide.
On Thursday, Dlamini said the leaders would serve their full terms and were free to stand for re-election. Their fate would be decided by members.
- SAPA
