Johannesburg - Cosatu’s biggest affiliate, the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has dropped a bombshell, calling on President Jacob Zuma to resign from office.
In an unprecedented move, the union detailed in a statement issued on Tuesday that there was a lack of strategic oversight and leadership in government, describing Zuma’s leadership as “untenable”.
Nehawu has departed from Cosatu norms which shun upon the discussion of critical leadership succession issues in the public domain.
“Nehawu calls on Comrade Jacob Zuma to take the honourable and courageous decision in the interest of the ANC and our people by ensuring that by the time the ANC goes to the General Elections in 2019 he is no longer the head of state,” said the union’s leaders who met at a two day NEC meeting that ended on Monday.
“Whilst we believe that no single individual, even as President of the country, can be solely responsible for all the socioeconomic and political ills in our society and whilst we appreciate that Comrade Jacob Zuma has served our struggle well over the years, the organised working class cannot stand idle by and be silent when it is clear that the revolution is taking a disastrous trajectory as it needlessly lurches from crisis to crisis.”
While the union had reportedly made clear its wishes for deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed Zuma as the next ANC leader at a past Cosatu meeting, they now wanted that decision pushed forward.
This, the union said was because the ANC could not afford to hang onto Zuma until the 2019 general elections.
The union’s executive committee also demanded the dissolution of the disgruntled SABC board and the dismissal of NPA head, Shaun Abrahams as he lacks fitness to hold office.
@ThetoThakane
Labour Bureau