 Drive to change ANC leadership ‘distracts allies’ THE campaign to change the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) was premature and distracting to the party and the tripartite alliance, said National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Frans Baleni yesterday. Some ANC leaders were seized with a premature fascination with the removal of other leaders, instead of driving the party’s agenda to transform the economy, he said. Mr Baleni’s comments follow a meeting of the union’s executive last week, as the ANC and its allies are battling to put the lid on a leadership challenge — 19 months ahead of the party’s internal elections to be held in Mangaung in December next year. The ANC Youth League is campaigning to install its former president, Fikile Mbalula, as secretary-general, replacing Gwede Mantashe. The union is at odds with the league over its call to nationalise the mines, seen as a proxy debate to weaken the current leadership. Mr Baleni said the campaign to unseat Mr Mantashe was premature and any talk about changing officials should come only after a thorough performance review. "People must be judged on their performance." He said leaders were consumed by petty fights and persistent calls for others to be disciplined, which were distabilising the alliance. He echoed South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Blade Nzimande’s comments that there were "professional campaigners" whose job was only to run campaigns for leadership positions. Mr Baleni was speaking at a briefing announcing plans to launch a series of regional protest actions this weekend in the run-up to a national one-day stayaway in about September to mourn colleagues killed at work. The one-day protest, which is likely to shut platinum and gold mines in North West, will take place on Saturday and be launched in other provinces, with the severity of the action determined by the death toll in those provinces, Mr Baleni said. The union estimates the death toll on mines in SA stands at 50 so far this year. Department of Mineral Resources data showed a 27% increase in fatalities in the first quarter of the year, with 38 deaths compared to 30 a year earlier. The protests come as wage talks start in the gold, coal and platinum industries, with Mr Baleni predicting them to be tough because of the high expectations of union members. The union is finalising its wage demands, drawing on information sent to it this week by the Chamber of Mines. A letter of demand should be dispatched "within days", he said. The run in commodity prices such as gold — which has touched a record high of $1577 — and platinum has boosted workers’ expectations of a good increase in wages, he said. The chamber said it had not yet heard from the union. It was concerned about the safety record of the industry, and "is redoubling its own initiatives to improve safety", said Frans Barker, senior executive for industrial relations and safety. "The chamber feels better results would have been forthcoming if the union had refocused on effective joint responsibility for these initiatives." -- 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] . |
