South Africa seemed to be marching towards a kleptocractic and predatory capitalist system where there would be no accountability and where corruption would be the norm‚ ousted Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Saturday.
Speaking at the launch of elections for shop stewards for the metal tradeworkers union Numsa‚ Vavi said Chapter Nine institutions‚ in particular the Public Protector‚ were under immense pressure and “full frontal” attack.
Other critical institutions of democracy were being blunted and domesticated.
“The State Owned Enterprises are going through one crisis after another and endless turmoil. All this forms part of an overall strategy to emasculate the organs of people’s power and institutions of democracy.
“Comrades‚ unless we are very careful‚ and take action now‚ we seem to be marching towards a kleptocractic and predatory capitalist system where there will be no accountability and where corruption will be the norm‚” he cautioned.
He added that those who were saying the march against corruption on August 19 was a middle class concern were totally wrong.
“It is the poor and the working class who suffer most from corruption‚ and they have to be in the forefront of fighting it.”
Turning to the turmoil within Cosatu from which both he and Numsa were expelled‚ Vavi said it had to be questioned whether a new federation was in the process of being born.
“This new federation has no qualms of dismissing 365‚000 workers from its ranks. It sees nothing wrong when its affiliates purge thousands of its members without a hearing‚ and disobeying its own rules and the law of the land. It says nothing when members march and send memorandums to it about the looting of millions of Rands of members’ money.
“It says nothing about the looting of taxpayer’s money and yet it jumps into action and issues statements when their influential friends in high places are dismissed or purged as we see with the dismissal of the PRASA CEO‚” Vavi asserted.
“Tragically the ANC and the SACP do not see this picture. They do not want to see this picture. All they seem to care about is what will remain in this new undemocratic COSATU that can continue to serve as voting fodder.
“The ANC and the SACP have lost any moral authority to intervene and solve these challenges. COSATU has been domesticated in the same way the ANCYL was. All dissenting voices are seen as a threat‚ not as a positive contribution to arriving at solutions for our people‚ but as a direct threat to those who are simply enjoying wielding power‚ and enjoying the material advantages associated with it‚” Vavi added.
The biggest single trade union in South Africa‚ Numsa was expelled from Cosatu in November 2014 after withdrawing its support for the trade union federation’s tripartite alliance partners‚ the ANC and SACP‚ and calling for the formation of a new socialistic‚ left-wing front to oppose the ANC.
Vavi was a strong critic of their expulsion‚ which was one of the major factors that contributed to his own axing from the union federation in March this year.
SA marching towards ‘kleptocracy’: Vavi
South Africa seemed to be marching towards a kleptocractic and predatory capitalist system where there would be no accountability and where corruption would be the norm‚ ousted Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Saturday.
Speaking at the launch of elections for shop stewards for the metal tradeworkers union Numsa‚ Vavi said Chapter Nine institutions‚ in particular the Public Protector‚ were under immense pressure and “full frontal” attack.
Other critical institutions of democracy were being blunted and domesticated.
“The State Owned Enterprises are going through one crisis after another and endless turmoil. All this forms part of an overall strategy to emasculate the organs of people’s power and institutions of democracy.
“Comrades‚ unless we are very careful‚ and take action now‚ we seem to be marching towards a kleptocractic and predatory capitalist system where there will be no accountability and where corruption will be the norm‚” he cautioned.
He added that those who were saying the march against corruption on August 19 was a middle class concern were totally wrong.
“It is the poor and the working class who suffer most from corruption‚ and they have to be in the forefront of fighting it.”
Turning to the turmoil within Cosatu from which both he and Numsa were expelled‚ Vavi said it had to be questioned whether a new federation was in the process of being born.
“This new federation has no qualms of dismissing 365‚000 workers from its ranks. It sees nothing wrong when its affiliates purge thousands of its members without a hearing‚ and disobeying its own rules and the law of the land. It says nothing when members march and send memorandums to it about the looting of millions of Rands of members’ money.
“It says nothing about the looting of taxpayer’s money and yet it jumps into action and issues statements when their influential friends in high places are dismissed or purged as we see with the dismissal of the PRASA CEO‚” Vavi asserted.
“Tragically the ANC and the SACP do not see this picture. They do not want to see this picture. All they seem to care about is what will remain in this new undemocratic COSATU that can continue to serve as voting fodder.
“The ANC and the SACP have lost any moral authority to intervene and solve these challenges. COSATU has been domesticated in the same way the ANCYL was. All dissenting voices are seen as a threat‚ not as a positive contribution to arriving at solutions for our people‚ but as a direct threat to those who are simply enjoying wielding power‚ and enjoying the material advantages associated with it‚” Vavi added.
The biggest single trade union in South Africa‚ Numsa was expelled from Cosatu in November 2014 after withdrawing its support for the trade union federation’s tripartite alliance partners‚ the ANC and SACP‚ and calling for the formation of a new socialistic‚ left-wing front to oppose the ANC.
Vavi was a strong critic of their expulsion‚ which was one of the major factors that contributed to his own axing from the union federation in March this year.
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