NUM supports COSATU’s upcoming national strike against corruption

29 September 2020

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is fully supporting the planned nationwide general strike by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) on 7th October 2020 against corruption that is ravaging the country’s public image and economy.

As trade unions, we can no longer keep quiet, or be reduced to voting fodders. We should guard against corruption in all sectors of the government and the economy.

It is so bad that millions of rands allocated to address the country’s challenges are arrogantly misdirected by certain individuals for self-enrichment.

The NUM is on record calling for people - whether they are government officials, politicians, business, church or community leaders - found to be entangled in corrupt activities through their dirty looting networks to vacate their responsibilities with immediate effect. We also call for a blacklisting of all those so called tenderpreneurs found guilty of corrupt activities.

The stealing of the PPEs procurement corruption represents a direct assault against workers and the poor.

We have noted that this looting culture, beside stifling service delivery to the poorest of the poor, has shifted the struggle for economic freedom and real emancipation towards a struggle against corruption. such a shift inevitably betrays our own National Democratic Revolution.

This means that the opportunity for decent jobs for many South Africans is being betrayed.

Workers are fast losing confidence in the willingness and capacity of the government to honestly fight corruption. We have noted efforts from President Ramaphosa to push back against corruption, but we can only judge the results and not the intentions.

The NUM will fully participate in the planned protest that is also aimed at raising several other issues affecting workers across the country.

Issued by Livhuwani Mammburu, NUM National Spokesperson, 29 September 2020