COSATU+Special+Central+Executive+Committee+Resolution



=COSATU Special Central Executive Committee Resolution=


 * 31 August 2005**

The COSATU CEC met in a special session on Wednesday, 31 August, as ordered by COSATU’s Third Central Committee, in order to manage decisions on the Jacob Zuma matter. The CEC comprises the national office bearers of COSATU, the presidents and general secretaries of its affiliates, and the chairpersons and secretaries of its provinces.

COSATU’s overall objective is to build a strong Alliance that can lead transformation of our society. The CEC reaffirmed the correctness of the Central Committee decisions. The CEC and all leaders and members of the federation must remain loyal to decisions taken through democratic processes. The task of this special CEC was to manage the implementation of the Central Committee’s decisions in its interaction with the Alliance, civil society formations and the society as a whole.

The special CEC received a report on the discussions of the Alliance Ten-a-Side meeting held on 24 August, whose resolutions are summarised in the statement issued by the Alliance Secretariat. The discussions in the Alliance were robust, frank and constructive.

The CEC supports the decisions of the Alliance Ten-a-Side and gives its full support to the processes outlined in the statement. In particular the CEC expressed its support for:


 * The decision to process and manage a discussion on the prevailing political environment, which leads to feelings of marginalisation, concerns about concentration of power, and the widespread perception that the working class and the poor were not the main beneficiaries of the economic transformation in the first decade of freedom. All these factors combine to create an environment that makes management of related and even unrelated processes difficult.
 * The decision to manage a discussion within the Alliance on conspiracy theories and/or the perception that Jacob Zuma is facing an inherently unfair political trial.
 * The decision to process and manage a letter read to the Alliance meeting and subsequently released to the media by the ANC President proposing that the Alliance set up a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of a politically inspired conspiracy against Jacob Zuma.
 * The decision to process and manage the COSATU Central Committee resolution calling for the reinstatement of the Jacob Zuma and for dropping of the charges he faces. The CEC noted the views expressed by the Alliance and some of its friends in civil society in this regard. The CEC takes these views seriously and will open a discussion in the structures of the federation on these views.

The CEC expressed confidence that the Alliance Secretariat will take these issues forward and must be supported in their endeavour to lead these processes. The CEC further made observations on the public debate that has ensued since the Central Committee announced its decision. These observations are:

1. COSATU has been subjected to relentless attack by sections of the media and some so-called analysts. The CEC noted these criticisms in the spirit of public debate, but agreed that the principled stance the federation has taken on the Jacob Zuma matter has received overwhelming support from COSATU members, indeed members of all Alliance formations and many others. COSATU is not concerned that a minority including in the media has sought to ridicule COSATU. The CEC further expressed regret that the COSATU leadership has been subjected to personalised attacks as if they took the decisions by themselves. Yet it is well known that the resolutions were demanded by close to 600 delegates at the Central Committee who represented close to two million COSATU members.

2. COSATU has been projected as being soft on corruption or as seeking to protect Jacob Zuma at all cost. This view is erroneous in that COSATU’s stance against corruption and misuse of political power is well documented. COSATU fully respects the democratic rule of law and the Constitution, which it played a critical role in securing. We know that the pillars of our Constitution rest on the separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary. The COSATU Central Committee decision was political and sought to respond to a political situation. We believe that Jacob Zuma is facing a political trial and that he stands no chance of receiving a fair trial. Our demands are informed by this premise.

3. Some media commentators have been economical with the truth in suggesting that COSATU does not respect the rule of law. We believe that rather it is the NPA that must be condemned for disrespect of the rule of the law, as well as those in the media with whom it has worked to run a media trial designed to discredit Jacob Zuma and convict him through the public opinion. The following events support this view:


 * The NPA undermined the rule of law when it leaked details of its investigation in the media. It must be condemned for not pursuing these allegations in the courts alone.
 * The NPA undermined the rule of law when its former head convened an off-the-record briefing to selected journalists to convince them that Jacob Zuma is guilty of corruption instead of pursuing these allegations in the courts alone.
 * The NPA undermined the rule of law when it announced that it had //prima facie// evidence against Jacob Zuma instead of pursuing these allegations in the courts alone. This in itself constituted prosecutorial misconduct.
 * The NPA undermined the rule of law when it raided the offices of Jacob Zuma’s lawyers and gained access to confidential documents and information needed for his defence in court. Prosecutors should never have access to the documents and or information between an attorney and a client. In this case that confidentially has been breached. This again indicates that Jacob Zuma will not have a fair trial.

4. Further, the call COSATU Central Committee has made for the reinstatement of Jacob Zuma is not unconstitutional. True, the President has a prerogative to appoint persons to serve in the executive. The President may use this prerogative to reemploy Jacob Zuma. COSATU continues to feel that Jacob Zuma should either have been suspended or excused only after he had been charged.

5. The CEC considered the letter written by the ANC President to the Alliance Ten-a-Side and decided as follows:


 * The CEC endorsed the decision of the Alliance Ten-a-Side to take further a range of issues, including the letter received from the President. It was agreed to hold a further meeting to discuss these issues.
 * The President should lobby for the acceptance of his views within the ANC structures so that this becomes the official ANC view, rather than his personal proposal.
 * The CEC is opposed to dealing with deep-seated political problems in the Alliance and in society through technocratic processes. Political crises require political interventions, not commissions of inquiry. All over the world commissions established to investigate political conspiracy theories have all failed to establish hard facts. This does not mean that such conspiracy theories had no basis in reality, but rather that it is difficult to prove the existence of conspiracy, which by its nature is clandestine.
 * Having said that, the CEC noted that the President has called for an internal process, not a judicial commission. An internal commission has serious limitations in terms of ability to gather information. It cannot subpoena any witness, seize documents held by the state institutions, or allow witnesses to be subjected to rigorous questioning by the lawyers.
 * For these reasons, to be helpful, an internal commission must not be limited to collecting information, but must consider the underlying political factors that lead into people holding particular views within the Alliance and in society. To achieve this aim, the terms of the reference of the commission will have to be carefully drafted. Moreover, the commissioners must be appointed through an acceptable process where all components of the Alliance participate.
 * The CEC would not oppose political processes driven by the Alliance Secretariat that include elements of a commission or that resemble one. The CEC insists, however, that a commission of inquiry on its own would not resolve the underlying political problems we face.

6. The CEC condemned in the strongest terms leaders and officials of COSATU and its affiliates who continue to leak information about internal debates and discussions to the media. The CEC equally condemns leaks to the media about the Alliance Ten-a-Side discussions. If this continues it will kill internal democracy, since people may not risk expressing their views on sensitive matters if their identities will be revealed in public. This new threat must be stopped lest it undermine trust and lead to witch hunts that would combine to destroy internal democracy and our culture of rigorous internal debates on matters affecting our organisations and society.

Congress of South African Trade Unions 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets Braamfontein, 2017
 * Paul Noyhawa (Spokesperson)

P.O.Box 1019 Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa

Cell: 082 4911 591 Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24 Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940 E-Mail: paul@cosatu.org.za**