WHAT does the ANC mean when it says it is giving Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi a long rope to hang himself with?

Does it mean that the party has set a trap for Vavi? There are no easy answers.

The ANC, through its embattled general secretary, Gwede Mantashe, recently announced that it would not be charging Vavi for saying that the party leadership failed to act on corruption. It has now said that it will find a political solution to the problem.

But the remark about giving Vavi a "long rope to hang himself with" boggled the mind. If there is another way, a political solution, to resolve the matter, why give him a long rope to hang himself with?

The ANC did not announce that it intended to charge Vavi for saying that the party and its leadership seem to be failing to act on allegedly corrupt cabinet ministers, including the controversial Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda. The matter was only exposed by the media.

After learning of the ruling party's intended disciplinary action against him, Vavi wrote to Mantashe seeking clarity. Interestingly, he never responded. If that is not arrogance, I don't know what is. Instead, he communicated the party's decision on the matter through the media.

When he took power, President Jacob Zuma promised to deal with corruption in government.

His silence on the row between the ANC and Vavi over corruption is deafening. Was Zuma just paying a lip service?

What prompted the ruling party to publicly announce that it would not charge Vavi for his utterances, after keeping mum on the matter?

It remains unclear. That said, the party should have admitted that it had no case against the Cosatu boss. Hence the decision not to charge him.

Thabile Mange, Kagiso