The Times
*ANC gives Vavi 'rope'* /No disciplinary hearing for criticism, just space in which to hang himself/ *Dominic Mahlangu, The Times, Johannesburg, 22 June 2010*COSATU general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has been given a "long rope" with which to hang himself after the ANC's National Working Committee decided not to drag him to a disciplinary hearing after he accused two ministers of corruption.
The decision follows demands for action against him by a group of senior ANC members in the NWC after he publicly accused Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda and Corporate Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka of being corrupt.
In a briefing after the NWC meeting yesterday, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said charging Vavi was not the way to go. Instead the ruling party will ask Cosatu to abide by decisions taken by alliance structures to stop public spats.
"What Vavi said is a chargeable [offence], but what the ANC does with everybody, it gives a person a long rope and engages with that comrade. When it ultimately takes a decision to deal with that person, it deals with that person," he said.
"We will go to Cosatu and engage with them and specify the things we are unhappy with so that when, in future, we charge an individual member of the ANC, who happens by coincidence to lead a trade union federation, when we charge that member of the ANC there must be no foul play called."
However, Nyanda has threatened to sue Vavi for his statements, and Mantashe said yesterday that the ANC would not prevent him from doing so.
Two weeks ago, Vavi ignored Nyanda's deadline to apologise for his remarks, and the trade union boss is still awaiting Nyanda's next move.
Cosatu affiliates have threatened to pull out of the tripartite alliance if Vavi was disciplined.
They said it would create "a terrible precedent" which would lead to the breakdown of the alliance.
Yesterday, Cosatu welcomed the decision.Spokesman Patrick Craven said talks to consider disciplinary action could not be justified as Vavi was speaking on behalf of the union federation.
Mantashe denied that a potential alliance split informed the NWC's decision, saying Vavi or any other alliance member, who was a member of both the ANC and another organisation, could be disciplined if they contravened the party rules.
"The history of our movement is full of names of comrades who were charged while being leaders of the alliance. It is therefore being economical with facts and truth to say it has never happened," he said.
"There is therefore no question of the ANC being unable to charge its members because they happen to be leaders of one or another alliance partner," Mantashe said.
"These individual members are expected to defend the congress movement irrespective of the company they find themselves in."
*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article515591.ece/ANC-gives-Vavi-rope*
-- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
<<image/jpeg>>
