Ramaphosa no proactive leader, says Maepa in wake of booing

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says he has heard the grievances workers expressed at a Cosatu May Day rally “loudly and clearly” in a statement addressing the disastrous events.

In a rather woefully attended affair, the president was ferried away in a police Nyala as raucous workers did not allow him to complete his address.

Although the president said he had heard the concerns of workers, Public Service Association (PSA) deputy general manager Tahir Maepa said Ramaphosa was not a proactive leader.

This makes him a hindrance in many aspects of what he is doing for the country, he said. “There are many unfair labour practices he has not attended to and as a result that is the reaction from the union. Unions are not happy with him at all,” he said.

Maepa said the government has failed dismally and this might hit Ramaphosa at this year’s elective conference and ultimately in the 2024 national elections. “The damage is already done. Our law enforcement is weak and the judiciary is a joke. Such conditions have a negative impact on society, thus it won’t be easy for him to get a second term,” he said.

Ramaphosa’s statement said the wage grievances of workers in Rustenburg deserved the attention of all stakeholders and a sustainable settlement could be reached. The government was committed to playing its part.

“The workers at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium also made plain … the working class and the poor are suffering. They made the firm point that we must do more, and act with greater urgency, to address unemployment, poverty, deprivation and hunger. We must establish more efficient mechanisms to enable workers to participate more fully in the formulation of policy.”

Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo, who was at the event, said: “The message sent to Ramaphosa was monumental … they should anticipate what is coming for them.”