Johannesburg - In the most stinging attack on the ANC-led tripartite alliance and government yet, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has accused politicians and public officials of compromising the welfare of the people and workers for corruption, self-interest and factionalism.
Vavi, who was addressing hundreds of people at the memorial service of slain Free State unionist Mbuyiselwa “Phajane-Shanyana” Mnguni in Zamdela, Sasolburg, on Thursday, indicated with his fiery speech that he had resigned himself to the prospect of being expelled from Cosatu.
He accused the ANC of abandoning the principles of the Freedom Charter and betraying the sacrifices of freedom stalwarts such as Chris Hani, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Solomon Mahlangu.
He said the cause of the corruption in South Africa today was because people had allowed individuals to wantonly abuse their powers.
“Let me tell you why. In our movement, we have allowed individuals to become more powerful than the organisation. They (the powerful) know how to manipulate us by praising themselves.”
Vavi was making his first public appearance since the expulsion of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) on Saturday
“The supremacy of the organisation is now coming second to the supremacy of individuals and their factions,” he said.
Vavi added that there were four problems hampering South Africa from transforming into a truly democratic state.
“The crisis of unemployment, the crisis of inequality, the crisis of poverty and the fourth – the crisis we must admit – corruption.”
Pulling no punches, he said corruption had become prevalent in the country. “Sometimes we wonder if this mess is irreversible.
“Don’t blame one individual, because it has gone beyond one individual and moved deeper…” he said, without mentioning President Jacob Zuma’s name and the Nkandla scandal.
He said all South Africans must take the responsibility for the corruption pervading the country. “We are all to blame for this mess,” Vavi said.
Referring to a case of dismissed striking SA Municipal Workers Union in the area, Vavi said this was another sad betrayal of workers’ rights by those who wield power.
He said the rampant corruption and abuse of power would have shamed the liberation Struggle heroes.
“When we sing this (Struggle) song, comrade Chris Hani will cry (from his grave). What will he do if he was to wake up now? What will Oliver Tambo say? Just imagine how he will be feeling if he was to stand in the hall?
“Luckily, Mandela was too old to appreciate the depth of our crisis. What will Solomon Mahlangu say…?”
Vavi turned on Cosatu and his likely fate.
“Cosatu today is in tatters and absolutely in trouble. Factionalism is tearing it apart. This week, I was forced to write a letter. I don’t care about the consequences…
“When we see the splintering, workers are set up against each other.”
He said the murder of Mnguni was a “symptom of the divisions” and the corruption afflicting Cosatu and the ANC-led government.
“The fact that we are not blaming (the Wit Wolwe), the AWB and other right-wing movements (for Mnguni’s murder) shows the challenges we are facing.
“What is it that has given so fundamentally that the death and suspect has to be one among ourselves?” he asked, referring to some of the shop stewards and politicians killed recently for “exposing corruption”.
He said it was an indictment on the ANC-led government that there had not been radical economic transformation and that the land and mines were still in white hands.
“It’s now 20 years and we haven’t taken 10 percent of the land. The people controlling the mines are still the same. What I know about is that wealth in South Africa has been redistributed from the poor to the rich.”
The Star