Vavi back in the driving seat
COSATU’S top leaders were returned to office for another threeyear term yesterday after dire warnings of a bruising leadership showdown evaporated.
Only one position – that of the first deputy president – was contested, but as the contender did not qualify for nomination, none of the top six positions were deemed to be in contention.
That means that Zwelinzima Vavi, already the face of the federation for the past 13 years, continues as general secretary, with S’dumo Dlamini as president, Tyotyo James as first deputy president, Zingiswa Losi as second deputy president, Bheki Ntshalintshali as deputy general secretary and Freda Oosthuysen as treasurer.
The writing was already on the wall when a video reflecting the past three years since Cosatu’s last congress was screened soon after the delayed start to the four-day congress at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.
It quickly became a barometer of support for both Vavi and Dlamini. Each time the two men appeared, the nearly 3 000 delegates went wild, waving miniature Cosatu flags and applauding and cheering.
President Jacob Zuma said the elections outcome was a source of “hope” for the ANC’s own leadership stakes at Mangaung in December.
He congratulated the “new, fresh out of the box” leadership.
Cosatu’s congress was widely seen as a proxy for the ANC’s own succession battles.
Reports cited anonymous sources as warning that affiliates such as the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Health, Education and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) and elements in teachers’ union Sadtu were mobilising to oust Vavi, seen as favouring Zuma’s own exit.
It was unclear yesterday whether a deal had been struck to ensure that no contesting nominations got in the way of maintaining the leadership status quo, with some sources indicating NUM may have made its support for Vavi conditional on his agreeing to lead in a more collective way.
Another source said: “There was no deal. That was the workers’ voice”.
What’s likely is that the enormity of the events at Marikana – and the devastating implications, not only for NUM, but also the broader alliance and the ANC – both focused minds and had a unifying effect.
“I am fine, I knew all along the hullaboo of the newspapers would end just there,” Vavi said. “All the results are fine.”
What remains to be seen is whether the outcome of Cosatu’s leadership elections can be regarded as a template for Mangaung.
In breach of a congress house rule, some delegates responded to Zuma belting out his trademark uMshini wami with the two-fingered salute signifying a second term, while the roly-poly substitution signal was conspicuously absent.
Dlamini, in his opening address, said Cosatu would not go to Manguang divided, but with a clear agenda to “defend and advance the progressive outcomes of [the ANC’s 2007 conference in] Polokwane”.
For this reason, the ANC, SACP and Cosatu alliance needed to ensure they were unified around “class interests”. “We must not allow tactical differences to be elevated to strategic differences,” he said.