STATEMENT ON PRONOUNCEMENTS BY COSATU AFFILIATES ON LEADERSHIP OF THE ANC
18 NOVEMBER 2016
The ANC has noted an unfortunate trend amongst COSATU affiliates to make pronouncements, directly and indirectly, on matters of leadership elections of the ANC in its upcoming 54th National Conference. This they do under the pretext of their organizational independence within the overall binding political context of the Alliance.
The ANC wants to state that it categorically condemns this behavior by these COSATU affiliates. The ANC does not meddle in the election of leadership of COSATU and its affiliates, instead supports and works with whatever collectives elected.
The ANC is currently engaged in an extensive organizational process to establish a common understanding of the problems of the movement amongst our structures. This we do so that, “Through the eye of the needle”, we may reach a collective appreciation on the nature of leadership required to take our organisation forward. Our alliance partners are expected to reinforce this strategic work of fostering unity amongst ANC structures and the Alliance broadly. Members of COSATU and its affiliates, in their capacity as members of the ANC, are therefore encouraged to participate in this process.
The act of driving the movement into competing pronouncements about leadership preferences deviates our attention from the crucial political task of building this collective understanding. Our organizational unity has to be built on solid political and theoretical grounds about the substance and depth of our challenges as a revolutionary movement before venturing into secondary matters of leadership selection.
Part of the political tradition of the alliance is the mutual respect of each other's internal processes. Whilst we appreciate the interest of our allies in the substance and form of the direction of our revolutionary political programme, we reject their misguided undermine of the ANC's control over its own internal organizational matters. We implore the COSATU leadership to reign on their affiliates and assert an understanding that the succession debate of the ANC will be led by the ANC at a moment organizationally determined by the ANC.
Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC national spokesperson, 18 November 2016
