Mantashe: Cosatu was flirting

Jokes about marital infidelity failed to mask completely the bitterness between ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi after the labour federation organised a conference with NGOs without inviting the ANC.

Vavi and Mantashe took part in a conference hosted by news website The Daily Maverick in Sandton yesterday, where they appeared in public together for the first time since their war of words broke out earlier this week.

Following his criticism of Cosatu and the NGOs attacking the ruling party in its absence, Mantashe yesterday spoke of the need for constructive criticism.

Later he addressed the issue directly, saying if Cosatu wanted to “flirt with other people, you talk to your alliance partner, saying ‘we are going to talk to these groups’, so that there are no suspicions”.

He said, “As a married man, if I’m going home late, I’m going to phone my wife. I do that as a matter of routine. If I don’t do that, and I rock up home at two, then I know there is going to be big trouble.”

Mantashe denied that the ANC was “paranoid”. He said the reality was that opposition parties in Zimbabwe and Zambia had emerged with the help of civil society organisations funded by the West.

Vavi admitted that the partner “arriving at two” should inform the other partner. “That is a given, but the partner should not insist on being in every meeting that the other partner is.”

In his speech yesterday Vavi said Cosatu had the right to call the conference independently of its allies and the government because it was “not a government labour desk” but an independent organisation governed by its own constitution with mandates drawn from over two million members who pay their dues monthly.

Vavi also warned that if tender corruption went unprosecuted, the “tenderpreneurs” would start believing they were “invincible and untouchable”.

He said, however, that Cosatu would continue to try to address problems with “a small minority of hyenas (in the ANC) who say ‘we are entitled, we have an obligation, we have a right to party and demonstrate how wealthy we are’”.

He appeared to be referring to ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, who last weekend defended his attendance at the lavish birthday party of business tycoon Kenny Kunene.

Vavi said “the hyenas want the ANC to look like them” and it was a constant struggle, but Cosatu would not leave the alliance.

“When you see a fly in your house, you don’t walk out. And if you see it on your television screen, you don’t take a hammer,” he said.

Vavi and Mantashe also sparred over the Protection of Information Bill, which Vavi slammed, saying it breached the constitution.

Vavi said the bill, if passed would not only restrict media freedom, but could threaten would-be union whistleblowers who wanted to reveal evidence of corruption or incompetence of public officials.

Mantashe, however, said the Protection of Information Bill was aimed at protecting state security and would not be passed if it was unconstitutional.

He added that the ANC did not want to pass a law “to protect the predatory elite” and corruption.

Vavi was also asked about his salary, which he said was R500 000 a year.

He said this was more than the average worker, but said the unions felt it was necessary to pay competitive salaries so that they could attract the best talent.

Meanwhile, Numsa’s general secretary, Irvin Jim, said yesterday that the ANC should “relax” and rather engage with the issues raised by Cosatu and others. - Political Bureau