COSATU Message of solidarity to the ANC launch of the local government elections manifesto - delivered by its General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, February 27 2011

President
Deputy President
Members of the NEC

Revolutionary greetings to all of you on this important occasion when we are launching the ANC local government elections manifesto. This is our manifesto. It is about our issues, our future and our ANC.

We are here representing all COSATU'/s 2 million members to pledge solidarity and total support to the ANC. The ANC is ourselves - the ANC is the workers, workers are ANC. The manifesto being launched today was developed in conjunction with us. It contains our demands and represents our aspirations for effective and transparent local government geared to meeting the needs of our people.

The manifesto answers our demands for decent work and eradication of poverty. It talks to the need for accountable councillors. It addresses the need to employ people strictly on the basis of their professional expertise and not on the basis of who knows whom in the council. 

The ANC candidates who eventually represent the movement will be COSATU candidates as well. They will be a product of a democratic process in which all alliance partners have participated. This includes community members who have voted already to choose the peoples representatives. We are aware that no process is not capable of being manipulated. Those who are aggrieved must use the internal structures of the organisation to raise their objections.

COSATU does not support members using violence and courts to raise concerns.  We accordingly urge the ANC to take stern action against anyone involved with violent action. COSATU will not support any independent candidate no matter their individual track records in COSATU or the broader struggle. We fight all our battles inside not outside.

COSATU has said, and the ANC is saying, that it will not give any councillor a blank cheque. Those who will be in that final list will only be men and women who are loyal not to a corrupt clique but to our people. The Alliance has values, culture and principles that are now a century old. To those who want to infiltrate our movement to be councillors to serve their stomachs instead of the people we have a message - back off!

COSATU and the ANC are non-racial movements. We don't discriminate people in terms of their language, race, colour religion or sex. Our message to all workers, in particular the Coloured and Indian workers is that COSATU is the workers' spear and the ANC is the shield.

Solidarity is being irresponsible in using badly drafted labour legislation to suggest that this ANC government of Nelson Mandela yesterday and Jacob Zuma today who fought against racism want to replace 1 million coloured workers and replace them with African workers. This is mischievous in the extreme. It is nothing but a cheap swart gevaar strategy designed to defeat our march to victory. COSATU will never allow that to happen. The ANC will not allow that to happen and our people will never allow that to happen. 

COSATU is already working hard and will redoubling its efforts in the coming weeks to visit  every workplace, including the farms, with only one message - our interests as workers and the poor can only be better served if we continue to support the ANC.

AMANDLA 

Issued by COSATU, February 27 2011

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