JOHANNESBURG - The Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU) in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday said that it will stand against anyone who opposes the resolution to expand the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
Officials of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), including Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, Enoch Godongwana and secretary general Ace Magashule, have been at loggerheads about expanding the mandate of the SARB as dictated by the resolution taken and reaffirmed at the party's 53rd and 54th national conferences in 2012 and 2017.
In a statement following its provincial executive committee last week, COSATU said the ANC manifesto promised decent jobs, to broaden ownership in the economy and address these dominant monopolies in the structure of the economy, extend the macroeconomic framework to support socio-economic transformation in order to expand SARB to meet the objectives such as employment and economic growth.
"It is within this context we agree with the ANC resolution which seeks to redefine the role of the Reserve Bank," COSATU said.
"We will stand very boldly against those who seek to undermine this important initiative, including the current minister of finance. We view this move on the Reserve Bank as an important initiative towards the real transformation of our economy."
President Cyril Ramaphosa had to step in last week and clear the confusion after Magashule contradicted the outcomes of the party's national executive committee lekgotla on the matter, saying that the party had agreed to expand the mandate of the Reserve Bank.
Ramaphosa said though he acknowledged the need to expand the mandate of the Reserve Bank, it was not desirable doing so at the moment based on the current economic growth.
COSATU also expressed its disappointment by the minister of public service and administration Senzo Mchunu's utterances on the reduction of the wage bill.
The union federation said it has not yet discussed the allocation of the wage in the South African context.
"The wage allocation in line with the International Labour Organisation has standards it has set. We need to first understand the logic behind the concept of a bloated public sector, whilst a standing MOU with government to fill positions have not yet been fully conducted," it said.
"We want the minister to engage with the relevant stakeholders, to prevent unnecessary frustrations between government and labour. We further urge the political officials to be cautious of the stance that will wreak havoc and implications that might halt development in the country."