Response to the article published in The Daily Dispatch, published on 27 April 2015
29 April 2015
SADTU warns Vavi and his cronies to stop using SADTU and the Tripartite Alliance to swindle people
We are witnessing the icons of political opportunism who think our members are comfortable with their misleading stunts using SADTU’s name and logos to profile themselves. Zwelinzima Vavi and his cronies again launched a tirade against the Tripartite Alliance at their so-called provincial shop-stewards council in East London on Saturday.
According to the Daily Dispatch of the 27th of April 2015, Vavi used this platform to blame the SACP for the divisions in the Federation and accused the Party of moving from being the vanguard of the working class to that of Government (see here). In the same meeting, expelled SADTU President Ntola warned of hard times under the ANC rule and told the audience to be prepared to die because there was no complete freedom under the ANC.
These utterances show utter contempt and complete disregard for the people these “icons” purport to lead as they think they can easily pull wool over their eyes with such cheap rhetoric.
This cheap rhetoric proceeds from an assumption that all problems are solved in advance on the basis of 'principles' and that the experience of the class struggle invalidates or validates the solution. Vavi and his cronies take this half truth and make it the complete truth and do not understand that the completeness of their assumptions is found in the fact that in political action, it is necessary to proceed from reality while holding firmly to principles. It is no less true that one cannot hold firmly to principles unless one proceeds from reality.
They take literally the notion that 'theory is a guide to action’ and ignores the fundamental mediation of 'the concrete analysis of the concrete situation'. Anyone who wants to understand this should read Vavi's submission to the ANC task team facilitated process including the article titled; “The real basis of the crisis in COSATU."
SADTU will not allow this cheap rhetoric by Vavi and his corrupt cronies to litter the policies of the Federation and create a setback to the revolution.
This shows high lowness on them, their mischievous acts of spreading lies and manipulating public with their misleading ideology will not succeed. Their market-like politics we have had the misfortune of witnessing is full of twisted ideologies and ulterior motives of a leadership won’t take our country forward.
The truth is that Vavi is the main instigator. Under his leadership as COSATU General Secretary, he failed to lead by turning a blind eye on NUMSA’s membership poaching tendencies which offended the Union’s core principle of “one union – one industry.”
Out of his own free will, lust and greed, Vavi had sex with a junior staff member in COSATU offices, during office hours. He became too big for the Federation and elevated himself to the level of being COSATU. His self importance and popstarism led to his downfall. Where was the SACP when he closed the door behind him and took his pants off during working hours in the office? Did the SACP take his pants off?
We warn SADTU members to guard against these political rejects who force their way on to our affairs with the media giving them fame.
For the Daily Dispatch to report that National SADTU is one of Vavi’s detractors is mischievous as it creates an impression that it is the national office of the union that is against Vavi and not the membership at large. In the SADTU National Congress and the National General Council the members resolved unanimously that COSATU should deal with Vavi who was sowing divisions within the Eastern Cape working with the dismissed former SADTU president and some few anarchists in that province.
The article further purports a lie by stating the following: “However, the disaffected Eastern Cape provincial SADTU structure has broken ranks with its national body.” For the record, there is no Eastern Cape Provincial structure. The Provincial Working Committee was disbanded in February and a Task Team is administering the affairs of the Union in the province.
We would urge the media – more especially the Daily Dispatch to report fairly, accurately and ethically and not to allow itself to be used by Vavi to build his profile. The Dispatch has always been the mouthpiece of the anarchists and it risking its reputation as a newspaper that is supposed to inform the public.
Statement issued by SADTU, April 29 2015
