The African National Congress, South African Communist Party, Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South National Civics Organisation in the Province of the Eastern Cape held a special Alliance Secretariat meeting on the 29th April 2018 in Nelson Mandela Bay, Florence Matomela House.
The meeting was convened to receive an update about the state of readiness for the Cosatu National May Day Rally and subsequent developments on various decisions and resolutions of the Alliance.
Cosatu National May Day Rally
The ANC, SACP and SANCO wishes to congratulate Cosatu on a very successful National May Day Rally which was held in Nelson Mandela Bay on the 01st May 2018 at Kwazakhele Isaac Wolfson Stadium.
Thousands of workers in the Province joined millions of workers around the world to celebrate the May Day and acknowledged the past victories and workers’ struggles waged.
We commend workers and their federation Cosatu for their relentless fight to ensure that May Day becomes a paid public holiday.
We must build on the victories achieved over the decades and confront the challenges that still face working people in our country. We must implement the minimum wage, which is an important step towards of achieving the living wage and further use the current momentum to organise the millions of the vulnerable workers who continue to leave within the slave wage.
Continued Defiance of the Eastern Cape Premier
The Alliance Secretariat meeting further received a report from the ANC on the implementation of the Alliance resolution to reconfigure the Executive Council of the Eastern Cape Government.
The report detailed the continued defiance by the Premier, to date Comrade Phumulo Musualle is yet to implement the changes that he was directed to make in the Provincial Executive Council despite and in spite of clear directive to this effect.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government is ANC led and the authority to oversee the functioning of ANC deployees to the Provincial Government resides with the ANC Provincial Executive Committee. The continued defiance of the authority of ANC PEC and the Alliance by the Premier and other MECs will not be tolerated.
We were also taken aback about the sentiments expressed by the Premier in print media and local radio stations stating that he had no intentions of carrying out the ANC decision on the matter, this is a clear act of defiance bordering on misconduct. This conduct of defiance is unacceptable especially from a Comrade that holds senior positions both in the ANC and the SACP.
The renewal phase of our movement requires individuals to subject themselves to the authority and discipline of the organisation, this is even worse given that the ANC PEC had accepted the ANC NEC decision to allow the Premier to finish his term in the interests of building unity and cohesion in the organisation including as well as ensuring stability in the Province but it looks like the Premier is hell-bent on creating two centres of power in our Province.
There must be immediate action taken to resolve this impasse as it has a negative impact on the organisation especially towards the 2019 national general elections.
The 54th National Conference of the ANC presented our movement with an opportunity to self-correct and renew itself. In the our January 8th Statement we committed to “undertake a deliberate programme of organizational renewal that decisively addresses problems of divisions and dysfunction within the organization”. We are all committed to work towards the unity of the ANC and the Alliance but that should never be understood as tolerance of negative tendencies which seek to undermine the renewed hope and enthusiasm of our people.
HUMAN RESOURCE OPERATIONS PROJECT TEAM
The Alliance has long resolved on the implementation of the HROPT across the board and restate its resolution that the EC government should and must implement the project with immediate effect. The Union acting in the best interests of the workers and its membership has been awarded a judgement to the effect that government must implement the payments.
The ANC recent Provincial Lekgotla also resolved that there is no need for any further delay in the implementation of the HROPT, hence we were so surprised by the non-prioritization of HROPT in the EC Budget Address and therefore the alliance expects the Premier to table the implementation plan before the Alliance and the Unions operating within the realm of the EC Provincial government.
FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD AND CORRUPTION
The Alliance is consistently calling for clean governance and a determined fight against fraud and corruption. The EC Government, the entities of state and the Local Government must use all prudent measures in using government resources knowing that they are using tax payer’s money. This call includes call for the EC to implement the Public Protectors report without any delay, ensuring that where necessary an action is taken against those implicated and pointed in the report. Its once again a cause for concern that President Mandela’s Funeral was used by scavengers to loot the little resources in the hands of the state.
The implementation of the Broad-band project outside the procurement processes and in duplication to many similar initiatives at various state levels is a cause for great concern.
We call for the Premier to halt the implementation of this project which is perceived to be a corrupt project intended for a loot, and further institute a vigorous transparent investigation into the project.
Issued by the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO in the Eastern Cape
For more information contact:
Cde Lulama Ngcukayitobi – ANC EC Provincial Secretary – 084 507 1602
Cde Xolile Nqatha – SACP EC Provincial Secretary – 082 313 5005
Cde Xolani Malamlela – COSATU EC Provincial Secretary – 071 676 9441
Cde Tony Duba – SANCO EC Provincial Secretary – 076 139 5486
