Ours is a unity of purpose’

POLICE Minister Nathi Mthethwa preached unity yesterday, reminding the ANC and its allies that theirs was a unity of purpose.

Mthethwa also cautioned against those who were misled into thinking that an individual was bigger than an organisation.

Speaking at the Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru) central executive committee in Tshwane, Mthethwa acknowledged the extent of the divisions within Cosatu.

“If anyone among us feels the national democratic revolution is a problem, the movement of the masses, the revolutionary alliance is a problem, our task is to remind those individuals that that ours is a unity of purpose,” he said.

“We are not here because we just like each other ’ s faces. We are together for a purpose. If we no longer agree on the purpose, what it means is that we should, as a movement, do what we are known for – emphasise the issue of unity, especially for those who have been misled to think an individual equals an organisation.”

The problems in Cosatu, further exacerbated by the suspension of its general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, have exposed the deep-seated factionalism, with affiliates backing Vavi and those backing the federation ’ s president Sdumo Dlamini pulling in different directions.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA, a staunch Vavi backer, has threatened to leave the federation and the alliance led by the ANC.

This could have a negative effect ahead of elections next year. –