Chaos at mining union’s conference

Factional battles over leadership choices at the National Union of Mineworkers spilled out into the open at its hotly contested elective national congress that got under way yesterday.

There were chaotic scenes as delegates fought over who should attend the congress.

A call by NUM president Piet Matosa for delegates at the congress in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni to stop howling fell on deaf ears as they shouted “voetsek” when NUM deputy president Joseph Montisetsi tried to clarify the issue of credentials.

“We are appealing to all the NUM members who are here as delegates to ensure that there is no howling and each and every delegate be allowed to express themselves. This shows the problem that we are having,” Matosa said.

The disbandment of the Rustenburg regional executive committee also appeared to be at the centre of divisions and infighting within the NUM.

Matosa supporters accused NUM general secretary David Sipunzi of “antagonising” the Rustenburg region because it was backing Matosa to retain his position as the union’s president.

Sipunzi said the decision to disband the Rustenburg region was taken by the national executive committee.

“What is happening is amazing and worrying. I did not communicate my own decision,” he said.

Carletonville regional secretary Mbuyiseni Hibana said the congress faced the risk of collapsing.

NUM Highveld regional secretary Tshilidzi Mathava said the congress was likely to be interdicted by Rustenburg leaders.

This happened as several ANC provincial conferences are failing to sit either because of court interdicts or disputes.

Yesterday, unhappy ANC members from Peter Mokaba and Waterberg regions in Limpopo threatened to interdict the provincial conference scheduled to take place this weekend. They want it to be postponed.

They argue that premier Stan Mathabatha’s provincial executive committee is holding office on unconstitutional and illegitimate grounds as its term expired in February.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the divisions in the ANC under former president Jacob Zuma were being displayed at all ANC alliance partners.

“These skirmishes are not about credentials. There are those within the NUM who want the union, which has lost a lot of members in the mining sector, to be independent. There is a contest on how the NUM should relate to the new ANC leadership,” he said.