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=Vavi, Lekota spar verbally again=

S’Thembiso Msomi, City Press, Johannesburg, 4 November 2007
A new war of words has broken out between ANC national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota and Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi.

This time the battle has been sparked by reports alleging that Vavi had said workers were better off under apartheid and that the ANC-led alliance would collapse if President Thabo Mbeki was re-elected as its leader in December.

Reacting to these statements, Lekota yesterday said Vavi had dictatorial tendencies that could result in him being kicked out of Cosatu.

But Vavi yesterday claimed he had been misrepresented by the media and said Lekota should have checked with him before reacting publicly.

Lekota accused Vavi of “trying to find anything under the sun to agitate workers against the democratically-elected” ANC government.

He said some of Vavi’s pronouncements were not representative of the trade union federation’s views.

“Vavi reveals the mind of an individual who has the makings of a dictator. He makes pronouncements on behalf of Cosatu which are not decisions taken by any affiliate or meeting of Cosatu itself,” he said.

Lekota, who is also the defence minister, was particularly unhappy with “the alliance will break if Mbeki is re-elected” comment.

He said it was not the first time Vavi had tried to impose leaders on ANC members.

He said the Cosatu leader’s now-famous statement that Zuma was a tsunami that could not be stopped was one such instance.

“Now he makes a statement in Kimberley repeating this threat of a tsunami, essentially telling the membership of the ANC: ‘You have no right to choose your leadership. You must do as I, Zwelinzima Vavi, say you must do’.

“I attended the Cosatu central committee meeting for the full five days and I never heard of a resolution taken there or earlier that if Mbeki is re-elected then the alliance will split.

“On behalf of which affiliate or structure of the federation is Vavi making that declaration?” asked Lekota.

But Vavi denied saying the alliance would break if Mbeki was re-elected.

“I never mentioned President Mbeki’s name nor did I say if he was re-elected it would be the end of the alliance,” Vavi protested.

He said he had told thousands of ANC followers at a rally in Kimberley last week that continuation of “the status quo” would lead to the “destruction of the alliance”.

This, he said, was then interpreted by the media as an attack on Mbeki.

He said when he spoke of “the status quo” he was referring to continued high levels of unemployment, casualisation of labour and the continued “wage stagnation”.

He was also referring to the political climate in which state institutions and the media were used to settle political scores, Vavi said.

He said despite its backing for Zuma, Cosatu had said it would work with any other leader elected at the December conference.

“It is the principal responsibility of the ANC to elect its leadership. I respect the fact that the ANC may come to a different conclusion. We may be advocating for Zuma and others, but if the ANC comes to a different conclusion, we would work with whoever is elected,” he said.

Vavi also dismissed Lekota’s accusation that his statements did not enjoy backing from Cosatu.


 * From: http://www.news24.com/City_Press/News/0,,186-187_2214694,00.html**

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