COSATU going after the wrong person & institution
27 May 2016
Bheki Ntshalintshali, Cosatu general secretary, accused the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan of “continuously (using) public servants as a scapegoat for the country's economic woes and his austerity measures … (were) hitting the working class hard. Furthermore, he argued that Cosatu was “worried that Treasury has only spent its energies on pacifying foreign investors that have so far done nothing to rescue our economy”.
If it hadn’t been for National Treasury and Pravin Gordhan the rand would have collapsed and half a million more people would have been retrenched. South Africa was saved in the nick of time.
Cosatu should really be directing its ire at Mr Jacob Zuma, the chief architect of economic destruction in South Africa. It was he who fired Nhlanhla Nene and rocked the economy to its very foundation. It was he who created one of the world’s largest government to reward his supporters and lifted the national debt to R2-trillion and soaring. Cosatu should take a moment to examine the cost of servicing that debt which is nearing a R130-billion.
Cosatu really needs to attack Mr Zuma for being the great wrecking ball that he is and to censure itself for supporting him all the way in destroying the economy. The finger should point inwardly.
COPE is astonished at the timing of Cosatu's attack on Gordhan and the Nationbal Treasury. It shows its utter recklessness and shocking irresponsibility. Two rating agencies are about to deliver their verdict on South Africa’s credit worthiness and here is Cosatu putting its foot into it. Workers of South Africa should denounce the consternation and aggravation that Cosatu is causing.
Worker interests can only be served by those who deeply understand the workings of macroeconomics and the singular importance of upholding the rule of law. The ruling party and Cosatu are fast shaping South Africa as a banana republic. From 2013 the media, the universities and global agencies have been warning about governance failures, decline of Innovation and an alarming falling-off in entrepreneurship in South Africa. Without massive entrepreneurship, new jobs will not arise and the economy will not revive. The problem of declining entrepreneurship is very serious indeed but does Cosatu and Mr Zuma recognise that? Will they do anything about it?
Sdumo Dlamini also weighed in with an accusation that Treasury was manifesting “a continuous negation of the policies that seek to support the radical socio-economic transformation and it affects us the workers directly." It is clear that Dlamini does not understand the role of the National Treasury. It has the responsibility of spending only what the country can afford, not what Mr Zuma and Cosatu want. That is why Pravin is being targeted from all sides. To achieve radical socio-economic transformation, Dlamini should request Mr Zuma to downsize government immediately, keep the rating agencies contented for the time being and agree to step down voluntarily.
Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE spokesperson, 27 May 2016
