City Press Report 08 - 10 - 06

City Press report

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the report on Page One of the City Press of 8 October 2006, headed “Fed-up Mbeki fumes”, alleging that President Mbeki made remarks critical of SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande at the ANC National Executive Committee.

COSATU will not comment on this story because it based entirely on information leaked from a private meeting by faceless ‘sources’.

This leaking of information from private meetings is a serious problem which COSATU has raised over and over again. It seems that organisations cannot hold a private meeting without the contributions to that meeting appearing next day in the media after being leaked by one of the participants.

As the COSATU General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said on 7 October at the funeral of Thozamile Gqwetha, this is a phenomenon we have to still fully confront - “something called ‘sources’ by the newspapers”. “These,” he said, “are apparently the leaders in whom we place our confidence but who lack revolutionary discipline, who once we have elected them turn themselves into faceless commentators in the media telling the whole world of their unhappiness at the decisions taken democratically in the structures of the movement with their participation. It is these Mzekezeke who are causing untold damage to the image of our organisations.”

This phenomenon is making it more and more difficult for organisations to conduct their business in a democratic way. It is allowing the media an unacceptably prominent role in the activities of the democratic movement.

We call upon all leaders elected to serve the membership in positions of responsibility to refrain from making any more such leaks and make sure that their allegiance is solely to the membership who elected them, and that it is the members, and not the media, who are the first to be informed of their discussions and decisions.