Kimberley gets blame for Workers’ Day chaos

PEOPLE bussed in from Kimberley yesterday were blamed for the “embarrassing collapse” of the national Workers’ Day event held at the Loch Logan Park in Bloemfontein.

The deep divisions within the ruling alliance movement spilled over to the main May Day event, where President Jacob Zuma was publicly booed, mocked and jeered, in scenes reminiscent of Nelson Mandela’s memorial service four years ago.

Stunned alliance leaders agreed afterwards that the event should serve as a “final wake-up call” that all was not well in the country.

Zuma endured more than 30 minutes of jeers and booing by Cosatu members and supporters as he sat sandwiched between Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini and SACP leader Blade Nzimande.

This is the second time Zuma had been publicly booed by the people. The nation cringed when he was booed in front of world leaders, including former US president Barack Obama, during Mandela’s national memorial service at FNB Stadium in Joburg in December 2013.

However, the Free State province, led by ANC provincial chairperson and Premier Ace Magashule, closed ranks and said those who had “collapsed” the rally were not from the province and had been bussed in from Kimberley in the Northern Cape.

When it became clear that no speaker would be allowed to speak at the rally, the Cosatu leadership called the event off, and Zuma was quickly whisked away and left the alliance leaders to engage the media.

“I’m extremely saddened, I think the entire leadership of our alliance should be saddened. It’s the lowest point in my own history as being part of this alliance. I didn’t think it would come to this. But I don’t think we should despair, we must use this as the final wake up call, not for the sake of our organisation, but for the sake of our own country,” said Nzimande.

“We cannot go down in history as a generation of leaders who allowed the alliance to actually split in our own hands, because history will judge us very harshly.”

He said the SACP would analyse what had happened and decide on what needed to be done.

“As the SACP we are relatively clear about what needs to be done, that at the very top level, we need to start a very huge effort, a crusade if you like, to unite our structures. And we know where the problems are, it’s not like we do not know.

“We know the problems of factions and who is in what faction. We must just get an effort to get everybody out of the hole where they are in, to actually say, we risk losing this country and we will do a huge injustice to the people of this country, the majority of whom still have lots of confidence and hope in this alliance,” said Nzimande.

The SACP, Cosatu and the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) had all called on Zuma to step down, saying they had lost confidence in him as a leader.

However, Magashule dismissed the disruptions as “mob psychology”, although he admitted that the congress movement leadership was divided right at the top.

“When the leadership is divided, they divide society, they divide membership.

“What has happened today with people who are not residing in this province is an embarrassment to the celebration of May Day. When the leadership is divided at national, it clearly shows they are dividing membership on the ground. Remember, Cosatu members, affiliates of Cosatu, they are ANC members,” said Magashule.

He was echoed by ANC spokesperson, Thabo Meeko, who said those who had disrupted the event “can never be workers from our province”.

Meeko said they had been “briefed” that the majority of those who carried out the disruptions “have been bussed from Kimberley to disrupt (as) the workers in the Free State would have be lukewarm to carry this anarchic programme”.

Sanco deputy president Mathabo Leeto said they were “very much disappointed” the event had collapsed because of whom she described as “unruly workers”.

Zuma’s booing came after some of Cosatu largest affiliates, including Nehawu, Sadtu and Sadtu demanded that the president should not attend and address the rally.

They argued that doing so would create conflict and confusion and further weaken the labour federation.