“MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN”

Vavi misjudged his appeal

COSATU’s special national congress went ahead without doomsayers’ predictions coming to fruition; Vavi’s popularity was more the product of COSATU’s collective struggles than his personal engagements.

Zwelinzima Vavi, the former COSATU general secretary who had sex in the office during working hours with a married subordinate and then later referred to her as a nopatazana(Xhosa for slut), thought he was more popular among the masses of the federation’s affiliates and shop stewards than the collective leadership of the federation. 

Vavi was dismissed by Cosatu for multiple counts of misconduct and was embroiled in corruption allegations. The federation announced his expulsion in its Central Executive Committee (CEC) statement on April 8. Vavi, a man who likes people to believe that he has a high moral ground, convinced himself that he was popular and that this will see delegates at COSATU special national congress reinstate him. 

Well, here on earth all motions are governed by, if not subject to, the force of gravity. This is configured in such a way that what goes up, comes down – especially when it loses support from the pillars that ensured its upward movement. 

At the threshold of Cosatu Special National Congress a message stared Vavi far away in the face: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” – contextualised as here it ends that which you claimed. 

It was made clear that Vavi will remain dismissed. This time not by the CEC, but by the decision of COSATU’s special national congress.

On credentials, an overwhelming majority voted in support of the admission of COSATU’s new affiliate, LIMUSA, and for Zingiswa Losi’s continued locus standi as the federation’s second vice president. The final tallies were about 1700 in favour of the decision, 200 against, with about 250 abstentions. 

The results were clear from the onset. They could statistically be worked out from the compositions and numerical strengths of COSATU affiliates. 

On the one hand, the affiliates that fully supported the federation’s CEC and its activities. On the other hand, those affiliates that had boycotted the federation’s CEC meetings and other activities. 

The results were and shall forever remain in sharp contrast to a right-wing liberal interpretation that dominated much of the media regarding the character of progressive trade unionism and its democratic processes, especially COSATU. Vavi and the leadership clique that surrounds him were partly responsible for that right-wing liberal distortion. The biased media also produced editorials and selected or commissioned opinion pieces in favour of Vavi and his ilk.

Contrary to the individualism of liberalism and its reliance on disunity (in this case within COSATU and its individual affiliates), in the progressive trade union movement once a union decides on a mandate and representatives to carry that mandate forward they are required to uphold it. 

In NUMSA, for instance, those delegates, officials and elected leaders who depart from the union’s mandate are characterised as sell-outs, and face a variety of subtle or blatant consequences or victimisation. 

The embedded media, and of course in favour of their man, Vavi, and as he says it himself, continue to bombard us with their right-wing liberal and divisive propaganda, that the majority of delegates at COSATU special national congress did not support their own mandates and unions.

The results of that congress, which some sections of the media marginalised in reporting, are there for all to see for themselves. 

During the second round of voting, on whether Vavi should be an item for consideration for reinstatement by the special national congress, about 1420 delegates voted no, only 23 voted yes, 160 abstained, and others had decided to leave in order to attend to other priorities. Their apology was presented after the vote, and was accepted by the congress. 

The mood among delegates suggested that Vavi’s popularity, which was more the product of COSATU’s collective struggles than his private personal engagements, had passed its climax. 

Plenary discussions, especially on the abuse of women by their male bosses at work, did not work in favour of Vavi either.

A factional pamphlet was delivered and circulated to the congress in an entryist manner to deepen disunity and influence delegates in support of Vavi. The pamphlet bore the logos of eight COSATU affiliates and one expelled affiliate, NUMSA. 

COSATU affiliates whose logos were used took to the microphone to distance themselves from the pamphlet. They condemned the unauthorised use of their logos. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) was the first. The union further said it will consider legal action. 

Shortly after the congress, a letter circulated from the union went viral in social media. It stated that CWU was withdrawing from the so-called nine-plus unions, including NUMSA, whose leaders had organised counteracting parallelism against COSATU’s CEC and the federation’s activities. The letter stated that CWU was rallying behind the decisions of the special national congress. 

The congress’ robust discussions saw it on its last day unanimously adopting a declaration. 

What was Vavi’s reaction?

The man who said the owners of the federation will speak at its special national congress, reacted by referring to the delegates as “sycophants” (Sunday Times, July 19, pg 10) 

A lot is yet to be written about the role played by the media and media practitioners in fuelling divisions within COSATU and covering the federation in a factionally motivated or biased manner. 

In the print media, disappointment was written all over the faces of embedded media practitioners and those media houses that engaged biased reporting as well as some newspapers.

Our public broadcaster, the SABC also needs an introspection. 

For example, on 20 July 2015 SAfm’s the Forum@8 presented by Sakina Kamwendo opened with the following statement (directly quoted): “We saw last week, the Progressive Block' of COSATU fail to get the federation' special congress to discuss the expulsion of Numsa and Zwelinzima Vavi” (sic). We have to ask the question: How can the public broadcaster make such a biased and factional statement which, in addition, undermines the unity of, and Cosatu as a progressive trade union federation?

This is the Bottom Line, cos the YCL said so!

Mluleki Dlelanga is Young Communist League of SA national secretary

A version of this article first appeared in the New Age.

This version was published in the Bottom Line is the online newsletter of the Young Communist League of the South Africa.