Cosatu comes out in support of ANC in local elections

COSATU president Zingiswa Losi has called on members of the country’s largest trade union federation to support the ANC ahead of the November 1 local government elections.

Losi delivered the opening address at Cosatu’s four-day central committee meeting, which started yesterday.

“Let us all go out and mobilise our families to vote in their numbers and ensure that the ANC will be returned to office on November 1,” she said.

Losi, who is also a member of the ANC national executive committee (NEC), said Cosatu members must keep a close watch on municipalities and force them to deliver services and fight corruption. She said municipalities must pay workers on time.

The federation’s call comes as one of its biggest affiliates, the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), resolved to support the ANC in the municipal polls.

“As Sadtu is an affiliate of Cosatu, which is part of the tripartite alliance, the NEC reiterated the union’s commitment to offer practical support to the ANC by campaigning in its defence and deepening democracy as we move towards the local government elections,” the union announced.

At the central committee meeting, Sadtu said it will make several proposals, including making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory.

This is in stark contrast with Losi, who warned during her address that mandatory vaccination will not work.

Instead, Losi encouraged every person to be vaccinated as the Covid-19 vaccine is safe.

She said Cosatu was working with government to ensure mobile vaccination sites are available in every township, informal settlement, village and taxi rank in the country.

Losi called on Cosatu members to go out and mobilise every worker and their families to be vaccinated by Christmas.

“We owe it to our health workers,” she said.

Meanwhile the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said that the country’s Covid-19 infections were showing signs of slowing.

“The current surge in Covid-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend,” the institute said. Today (Sunday) the institute reports 2 281 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 882 630. This increase represents a 7.4% positivity rate.

“The total number of cases today ... is lower than yesterday (3 286) and lower than the average number of new cases a day over the seven preceding days (3 491). The seven-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased,” the NICD added.

The Department of Health said the death toll from the coronavirus had risen to 86 174. “The cumulative number of recoveries now stand at 2 732 363 with a recovery rate of 94.8%,” it said. |