ANC in trouble: Numsa

Dumisani Dube

Picture: Dumisani Dube

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) believes the ruling African National Congress is in trouble and has left the masses leaderless.

This is according to a report by the Numsa secretariat that is due to be presented to the union's 9th national congress being held in Durban.

“Our honest view is that the movement of Oliver Tambo is in trouble ...” because it had failed to produce cadres who have “revolutionary consciousness to serve for no material gain”.

The report said that Numsa had defended the ANC against the “unholy” alliance of the Congress of the People (Cope) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).

“We cannot continue with the current situation where the masses are leaderless.”

It claimed that the ANC was failing to produce “revolutionary cadres” because of the country's capitalist system which bred corruption.

The report said that the ANC had a duty to look after the working class, which was its primary support base.

“Numsa is going to insist on the implementation of the revolutionary programme of the ANC, and the leadership elected in December must be a leadership that is equal to the task of implementing the Freedom Charter,” it read.

Numsa had a good relationship with the ANC, “but we can also say boldly that we have had some difficulties at certain times with some key leaders of the ANC”.

The leaders were not specified.

The leadership of the SA Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of the SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) were not spared.

“It has been a historical problem of the working class that almost always, when individuals get into leadership positions in the ANC from either the revolutionary socialist trade union federation Cosatu or the SACP, for some strange reason they tend to want to surpass the right-wing in the ANC in bashing the working class and their formations,” the report read.

Numsa also expressed concern at the alliance between the ANC, Cosatu and the SACP.

“The alliance seems to be plunged into so much internal conflict and factionalism.”

It lamented the fact that this had happened when the “secretariat” of the alliance members were “experienced communists”.

Without naming the secretariat, “for all intents and purposes, the alliance under their watch is quite dysfunctional”.

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe is also chairman of the SACP, while Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, is the SACP's general secretary.

Numsa would, according to the report, be demanding a review “of the post- Polokwane functioning of the alliance”. - Sapa