Tripartite alliance on the line, says Cosatu

COSATU has warned that if support for the ANC continues to decline – as the local government election results showed it had – its relationship with the federation and the SACP will collapse.

The country’s biggest union federation said the “movement”, meaning the tripartite alliance, needed to take responsibility and resolve its internal squabbles that have weakened it.

The ANC is likely to face an even tougher test in less than three years when South Africans go to the polls in the general elections.

A decline in voter support similar to last week’s could see the ruling party out of power in the next elections.

While the ANC’s 90-member national executive committee (NEC) is meeting to discuss where the party went wrong and who should shoulder the blame, splits in the alliance have already had a marked effect on the party’s ability to get voters to the polls.

“The ANC decline and degeneration will lead to an implosion if things remain the same, unless the movement itself takes responsibility to resolve the internal problems that have weakened it,” Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali told reporters yesterday.

“In the midst of this evolving political situation we cannot afford to have our political leadership distracted by factional politics and the scandals. We need a shift in priorities and posture,” he said.

Cosatu held a preliminary meeting yesterday to discuss the ANC’s performance, including its failure to hold on to some metros.

Ntshalintshali said the results came as a shock after scores of people had showed up to support the ANC at its various rallies across the country.

He said Cosatu wanted a re-run of the elections in hung municipalities.

“We want the ANC to only enter into principled coalitions. The message from Cosatu is that we do not expect the ANC to work with the DA.

“We do not want a coalition with racist political parties that are there to defend the interest of white monopoly capital,” he said.

Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini, who is also an ANC NEC member, said voters had spoken and this was their final warning.

He said that there was a failure to respond adequately to people’s cries over service delivery concerns, corruption and arrogant leaders.

“This was a final warning shot to the movement and we must demonstrate that we have listened to that final warning shot. It should be saying, stop these issues of factionalism,” he said.

“The unity of the ANC is important. Cosatu has been saying: Delay this succession debate and deal with the issues that show that people are not happy,” said Dlamini.

The labour federation warned against talks of President Jacob Zuma taking the fall.

Dlamini said instead of pointing fingers at one individual, the entire alliance should shoulder the blame.

“If the president is to take blame alone then that means he leads alone, and that is not the case. We must work in a manner (that) where mistakes happen we take a collective responsibility, where things go right we again celebrate collectively. It can’t be when things go wrong, it’s one person,” he said.

The federation has called for an urgent alliance meeting to discuss the way forward.

Cosatu’s meeting follows the SACP’s scathing response to the ANC’s performance.