Johannesburg - Cosatu in Gauteng has questioned the ANC’s ability to lead the country and rid it of its many problems as the federation accused the government of slacking in its fight against corruption.
Following its provincial executive committee meeting on Tuesday, Cosatu said it was becoming difficult to ignore that the working class had now “lost confidence in the governing elites and their ability and willingness to fix the mess they have created”.
“Everything from the rate of unemployment, economic decline, corruption, attack on collective bargaining, adherence to neo-liberal economic policies points to the fact that the Alliance has begun a descent that will sink it and the country,” the federation said in a statement.
The PEC also discussed the state of the ANC-led alliance and possible posture of the federation in future elections.
“While we have a resolution from the last congress to build the alliance, we are also troubled by its impotence, lack of cohesiveness and decisiveness,” Cosatu said.
This comes as the SACP is contemplating its participation in next year’s local government elections as part of its resolution to independently contest for state power outside of the banner of the ANC.
The federation also weighed in on the Covid-19 looting scandal which said relief funds being plundered through tender corruption, especially in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs).
“The PEC condemned the PPE tender corruption allegations in the province. It is criminal that while the working class was struggling under lockdown, the governing elites were looting the coffers of the state. We demand that all politicians implicated in this corruption should face the might of the law,” Cosatu said.
Among many other issues, Cosatu denounced racism in SA and blamed the ANC government’s economic policies as the source of “this arrogance of white supremacy”.
“The working class is a victim of a cynical collusion between the political elite and the business oligarchy that has ensured that the government runs a corporate welfare state,” the Federation said.
Political Bureau