Vavi’s claims are absurd - Zille

Cape Town- WC Premier Helen Zille and James Selfe, Chairperson of the DA Federal Executive, brief the media on the judgement handed down by the supreme court this morning. Picture Michael Wilson.

Cape Town- WC Premier Helen Zille and James Selfe, Chairperson of the DA Federal Executive, brief the media on the judgement handed down by the supreme court this morning. Picture Michael Wilson.

Published May 7, 2012

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Helen Zille on Sunday dismissed claims that she had tried to recruit Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi into the DA.

On the party’s website, Zille said the notion of Vavi joining the DA would be absurd because of “our divergent approaches to growing the economy and creating jobs”.

Vavi told the Sunday Times he had turned down several attempts by Zille to recruit him into the party.

“She is very, very power-hungry because she has this mistaken view… that I can be recruited into the opposition ranks. She tried to recruit me, in person, to join the DA around the run-up to the local elections. She tried to send me SMSes,” Vavi said.

Zille said she and Vavi had spoken many times at functions, sports events and via SMS in recent years, but said the conversations had never dealt with the possibility of his recruitment into the DA.

“Zwelinzima certainly has a lively imagination. Next he’ll probably say I asked him to marry me!” said Zille.

The fallout between the two politicians comes after days of squabbling between the DA and Cosatu.

Two weeks ago, the Cape Argus reported that Zille had called Cosatu the biggest barrier to job creation and redress in SA.

She said then that Vavi was building a power-base from which he would try to capture the alliance during the ANC’s 2017 conference, and had no regard for the poor and unemployed.

“It is time South Africans blew Cosatu’s cover,” Zille said. “They claim to stand for the poor, but stand for themselves only.”

Cosatu described Zille’s outburst as ludicrous and defamatory, and accused the DA of “undermin(ing) working-class struggles”.

“Whereas Cosatu advocates for higher taxes on businesses as a way to redistribute wealth and negate the high levels of inequality in our country, the DA wants tax breaks for business and less government involvement,” said Zet Luzipo, Cosatu’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, adding that the DA was “seeking to maintain the apartheid socio-economic structural relations”.

Zille repeated on Sunday that the DA and Cosatu differed on how to address SA’s “biggest crisis” – poverty and unemployment.

“I have never had a serious policy discussion with him. So it would be patently absurd to invite him to join the DA. Anyone with the vaguest understanding of politics would get that,” she said.

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