Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is being accused of building a "personality cult", in addition to claims that he benefited from the sale of the federation’s former head office building. Mr Vavi, who has emerged as a fierce critic of alliance partner the African National Congress (ANC) under President Jacob Zuma, this week defended himself against the "political charges". They are being brought against him by his peers as he makes his submission to facilitators ironing out internal divisions in the federation. The outcome of the process, facilitated by seasoned negotiators Petrus Mashishi and Charles Nupen, will likely determine Mr Vavi’s future in Cosatu, which he has led for more than a decade. According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mr Vavi is under fire for comments he made during the ANC’s Mangaung conference in December, and for giving axed ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema a platform during a Cosatu protest last year. Mr Vavi was criticised during the Mangaung conference by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who said the Cosatu leader was not a "free agent". This was after Mr Vavi tweeted following the election of leaders at Mangaung that it was "a formula for disaster, that it shows disunity". Mr Mantashe said the matter had been raised with Cosatu. Mr Vavi is also coming under fire from his peers over his tweets during a central executive committee meeting earlier this year, amid allegations that he is building a "personality cult". During a protest against e-tolls last year, Mr Malema was allowed to address hundreds of workers from a truck leading the march. Mr Malema’s troubles with the ANC were well under way by then, and he was expelled from the party less than two months later. The two incidents form the basis of the complaints being brought against Mr Vavi, to show the "rupture" between his views and Cosatu’s official stance. Insiders say Mr Vavi’s detractors will be hard-pressed to prove some of the vaguer political claims against him, as he is accused of "a political deviation", and of "hegemonising positions and an ideological posture and perspectives that is not consistent with the tradition of the federation". Mr Vavi has made his submissions in answer to the charges of political, administrative and organisational impropriety being levelled against him. He apparently fought back strongly against the allegations linked to the sale of Cosatu’s old building and the purchase of its plush new offices. Insiders said he was able to prove how many times he had reported back to the federation’s central executive committee on the sale of the building — making it difficult for any of the unions to claim he was involved in underhand activity. Another source said it was also submitted that no formal alternative offers had been made in regard to the old building. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union has alleged that Mr Vavi sold the building for less than it had offered for it. Mr Vavi’s strongest supporter, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), came to his defence in its own submission to facilitators. Numsa said one yardstick to test the political allegations would be to examine whether they deviated from Cosatu’s own resolutions, which it says they do not. "It is disingenuous to suggest that if the ANC or SACP (South African Communist Party) are not happy with the (general secretary) speaking on behalf of workers, there is a rupture," Numsa said. "Our primary task is to take forward the mandate we receive from workers, independent of whether or not, such a mandate angers or makes happy anybody else." Political analyst Ebrahim Fakir described the charges over Mr Vavi’s comments during the Mangaung conference as "spurious". "Making comments and expressing merits on leadership choices is not deviating from any resolutions," he said, adding that the charges seemed to be politically motivated. However, should Mr Vavi be found guilty of any of the allegations linked to the Cosatu building, a strong case for his removal existed. Mr Fakir said Cosatu remained gripped by issues which were not benefiting workers, rather they were "petty, individualised battles" in the interests of serving the dominant political faction under Mr Zuma. Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven declined to comment on Thursday, saying the federation’s position was that internal matters were not to be discussed publicly.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 04:45:46 +0000
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