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Trade union giant Cosatu has defended its decision to endorse Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to take over as ANC president, saying his track record – particularly in the labour movement – speaks for itself.
Cosatu’s decision to officially give Ramaphosa the nod to succeed Jacob Zuma was taken at its three-day “intense and robust” central executive committee meeting, which ended yesterday, where leaders gave warnings about a “weakened ANC and a dysfunctional alliance”.
Despite having no voting power at ANC conferences, it came out of that meeting strongly asserting itself, flagging the attitude of its allies who treated it like a junior partner. This, its leadership said, could lead to the disintegration of the tripartite alliance.
For Cosatu, Ramaphosa met all the criteria set out and was the perfect candidate for the job.
The checklist included finding a leader who was incorruptible, with a background in the working class movement, and committed to the unity of the ANC-led alliance.
Cosatu’s first deputy president James Tyotyo lauded Ramaphosa’s efforts as a champion for mineworkers’ rights while he was secretary-general of the one of Cosatu’s affiliates the National Union of Mineworkers, before taking up the position as secretary in the ANC.
“His efforts saw NUM mine workers liberated from prison-like conditions on the mine,” said Tyotyo.
“This Cyril Ramaphosa ... was the founder of NUM and was involved in negotiations that led to the establishment of the Constitution of this country. He meets also criteria we have outlined here. Nothing more, nothing less,” said James.
Calls for Ramaphosa to succeed Zuma started making the rounds as early as Cosatu’s national congress last year, with influential affiliates pushing for Cosatu to endorse him.
Despite initially vowing to stay away from the ANC succession debate Cosatu was forced to bow to pressure from its alliance partners, some of who called for Zuma to step down.
This move was also a result of what the federation described as a political gridlock in the country and Ramaphosa had been identified as the person who could take a divided ANC into the future.
The ANC warned Cosatu it had no right to discuss to comment on the ANC’s succession debate, pointing out it also never dictated to its ally.
Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said the federation was mindful of the fact that it was not a voting structure of the ANC but that it could not be gagged because “we represent workers who are members and supporters of the ANC”.
Cosatu would also support the proposal that the ANC should explore the possibility of avoiding slates and contestation in its elective conference next December.
The next step was to lobby and influence the ANC structures to support Ramaphosa as well as to ensure that he had the right calibre of leaders working with him to, among others, intensify the fight against corruption and advance issues of workers and the poor.
But there would be no free lunch for the former businessman, who was at the helm of Lonmin as a non-executive director when police gunned down miners during a strike – something which Cosatu leaders brushed aside when questioned.
“Of course there is no free lunch. People will engage to say this is what you must deliver,” said Ntshalintshali.
He also admitted that Cosatu finally had to name their preferred successor because of growing pressure from within the federation.
Affiliates had already begun going public about their stance – particularly the National Union of Mineworkers; the biggest affiliate the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union; and the Communication Workers Union, who publicly endorsed Ramaphosa, Nehawu went a step further to add its voice to growing calls for Zuma to step down.
Cosatu debated the matter but could not find common ground. The decision was for the issue to be raised at bilateral meetings with the ANC leadership.
Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini said the federation was not a branch of the ANC, but a decision taken by the governing party impacted on Cosatu.
The federation warned against the preoccupation of the ANC-led alliance with internal fights and failure to unite itself after the local government elections.
