Cosatu: 'Keep Zuma but change NEC’

President Jacob Zuma appears to be tightening his grip on power in labour federation Cosatu as the ANC prepares for its elective conference in Mangaung in December.

Several Cosatu leaders told The Sunday Independent that union leaders from the federation’s big affiliates preferred to surround Zuma with decision-making structures dominated by unionists, instead of ousting him.

This emerged as Cosatu was preparing for its all-important central executive committee meeting – its highest decision making body between conferences – starting tomorrow.

The federation’s unity will be under the spotlight when it thrashes out ways to assess Zuma’s performance and his collective ANC leadership in the run up to Mangaung – a discussion that split the federation down the middle the last time it was tabled.

The meeting’s agenda document states that Cosatu had to: “Reflect on the framework for the assessment of leadership as we prepare for discussions towards the 53rd National Conference of the ANC”.

Already, metalworkers union Numsa has taken a decision that the current ANC national executive committee (NEC) should not be retained in Mangaung.

There were strong indications that union leaders would not suggest that Zuma be replaced. Two senior Cosatu leaders told The Sunday Independent there seemed to be consensus that the problem with the ANC was not necessarily Zuma, but the ANC’s NEC, which had to be swelled with union leaders for Cosatu to win debates on policy and the deployment of government servants.

The decision by Numsa to invite Zuma to its political commission on Thursday was interpreted by its opponents in the federation as a move to rid itself of the perception that it was “anti-Zuma”.

Zuma told Numsa members that union leaders had to be present in the ANC’s decision-making body to sway policy in favour of workers.

A senior leader of the mineworkers union (NUM) said: “They (Numsa) are realising that their initial posture (on Zuma) put them in a corner. They now don’t want to be seen to be anti-Zuma.”

“Why invite Zuma to a political commission when we usually invite him to congresses?” asked the leader.

But Numsa leader Irvin Jim poured cold water on suggestions that the union was trying to get into Zuma’s good books, saying they invited him to state the challenges facing workers.

He told The Sunday Independent Numsa had not started a campaign to remove any ANC leader since former president Thabo Mbeki’s days.

“Numsa has not embarked on any campaign against any leader of the ANC and therefore there is no reason for people to have the view we don’t want Jacob Zuma,” he said.

“This (push for reforms in the country) has nothing to do with who is who in the site of power,” he said.

Numsa has also resolved that it would not elect the current ANC NEC as it had failed the workers.

Speaking at Numsa’s media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday, Jim’s deputy Karl Cloete said: “We will ensure this NEC doesn’t return.”

This comes as Vavi, a strong Zuma critic, told a meeting of Numsa’s political commission this week that the current political environment made it difficult for tripartite alliance leaders to have honest and open discussion without being labelled as belonging to a particular faction in the ANC.

Vavi, with Numsa’s Jim, are believed to be pushing for Zuma to be replaced for not delivering on promises he made to workers.

But Vavi has always insisted that his criticism of Zuma was meant to encourage the ANC to succeed.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said the ANC was concerned by Numsa's decision calling for the ANC NEC to be removed.

“ The ANC respects the independence of its alliance partners and therefore does not interfere in the internal democratic processes that elect their leadership.

“ The resolution by Numsa is not in line with respect of independence enjoyed by individual member organisations of the Tripartite Alliance,” he said in a statement. - Sunday Independent