Johnathan Paoli
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has struck back against claims that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) has been consistently losing members, because of its alliance partner’s position in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Mbalula gave the opening address on the first day of the launch of NEHAWU’s National Political School on Monday at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Convention Centre, and said despite the uncertainties of the present situation, the ANC remains in charge.
“We are in uncharted waters, but what is important, we are in the driving seat,” Mbalula said, adding that despite claims to the contrary, the ANC has maintained its position in taking the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) forward.
Mbalula said the ANC is currently in the centre and its position had to be guarded jealously, and going forward, members have to remember that things are fluid, including in the GNU.
The SG’s comments come after NEHAWU President Mike Shingange had expressed concerns over significant decreases in membership numbers and blamed the union’s relationship with the ANC as the source of their shrinking numbers.
“Because of our association with the liberation movement, and our vigorous campaign and almost making it compulsory to vote for the ANC, we are bleeding members,” Shingange said.
He called on the leaders of the alliance to be cognisant of the downward trend.
“It is important for the leadership of the alliance to accept and understand that we’re bleeding,” the GS said.
Shingange described the GNU as a pact of political and business elites that stood contrary to the ideological framework of the alliance and said the actions of the ANC are a betrayal not only of unions, but also of voters.
“We were canvassed to vote for a set of policies, we chose political parties on the basis of what they were selling us, we did not vote for the GNU,” Shingange said.
South African Communist Party General Secretary Solly Mapaila, similarly criticised what many within the alliance have called as a “betrayal” by the ANC of both policies and vision.
“I went to the ANC, it was back and forth, begging people to actually focus on the possible revolutionary path,” Mapaila said while pointing out that he would prefer a coalition with similar ideological backgrounds.
“It would be better to be irritated by the EFF in Cabinet, than be irritated by neoliberal forces who want to be dominant and take control of the revolution,” Mapaila charged and described how the Neo-liberal dominant faction in ANC NEC was not willing to tolerate and engage with the EFF on the formation of a new government.
Mbalula tried to maintain the “leftist” stance of the ANC but acknowledged the role played by NEHAWU in the alliance.
“NEHAWU members are the foot soldiers of the revolution, in many respects, hence we are happy that we have this engagement today, on the common challenges we face, and how to theoretically engineer a better life for all of our people,” Mbalula said.
He believed that the National Political School would assist in ensuring that workers’ rights are respected and service delivery challenges are addressed while he praised the union for initiating a political school and highlighted the political importance of education, he said.
He praised the union for being at the forefront of service delivery.
“Following the outcome of elections, we have characterised this period as a significant setback for the NDR. And practical steps such as the launching of the political school as a step in recovering from the setback”.
Mbalula called for an appreciation of the fact that the alliance experienced a setback and not complete political annihilation and said the party chose to go forward instead of opposition due to what the mandate indicated and what the people wanted.
“We seek to strengthen our execution of the revolutionary cause,” he said.
He pointed out that the ANC has led service delivery in the postcolonial period, and blamed the loss of electoral support on a “war of propaganda”.
In addition, Mbalula said the party suffered a serious loss due to the actions of former President Jacob Zuma and the electoral support allegedly “stolen” by his uMkhonto weSizwe party.
“We were brought below 40% by one of our own, we wanted to take people to social transformation by means of the NDR, but instead people were taken to no-man’s-land, without any solutions,” he said.
He said the union was a source of clarity and solutions to advancing the struggle of workers and all the people of the country.
“We are all in a strange territory, and we all have an obligation to up our game. The GNU that we have conceptualised demands on us to re-conceptualise,” he said.
The SG said he hoped the new political school would become an ongoing process, factoring in lessons that were acquired during this new landscape and that even though this was a setback, the ANC nonetheless still remained the largest expression of the people’s democratic will.
Mbalula said that the ANC would pursue the NDR from within the GNU.
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