Cosatu condemns biased reporting of the ANC President's speeches 10-03-08

 

COSATU condemns biased reporting of the ANC President's speeches

The Congress of South African Trade Unions condemns the grossly distorted way in which recent speeches by the President of the ANC have been presented in the media. Headlines such as "ANC president dances to everyone's tune" (Weekender), "The more we get to know Zuma the uglier the picture" (City Press), "Who will shut up motormouth?" (Times), and cartoons portraying Jacob Zuma as a chameleon or an two-headed man, present a totally false picture - of a man with no principles, who changes his policies to suit each different audience he addresses.

The editors, journalists and analysts responsible for this biased coverage are people who consistently opposed Zuma's bid for the presidency and are now trying to undermine the democratic decision of the ANC Conference by a policy of biased and malicious misreporting of his speeches.

A serious analysis of the speeches reveals a very different picture. While COSATU took issue with comments which were understood to be a call for more flexibility of labour, Jacob Zuma clarified these remarks to the COSATU Central Executive Committee and pledged his full support for laws which protect workers' rights.

Otherwise his speeches, while attempting to reassure minorities and nervous capital - some of whom seemed to have believed in the misrepresentation of Jacob Zuma by sections of the media as a devil walking the streets of South Africa - have been 100% consistent with the resolutions passed at the ANC Conference in Polokwane. It is a complete exaggeration to present him as someone singing different tunes.

Economic policy

In his much-publicised statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jacob Zuma said that we "should once again be reassured that the ANC's new leadership is not going to change the party's economic policies - there should be no apprehension."

This is clearly not an endorsement of all the government's economic policies but the economic policies democratically decided by the Polokwane Conference. As the elected president of he ANC, he was absolutely correct to insist that these should not be changed by an individual leader.

"It's actually surprising," he said, "that people have not realised how the ANC has crafted policies; that, in fact, you cannot have an individual that holds the wrong policies; it's the ANC which crafts them."

Farmers

When addressing farmers he reassured them that the ANC was mindful that many farms and rural areas had to endure crime - especially violent crime, and said: "We must emphatically say that we should not tolerate criminal activity of any sort - the attacks on farmers, farm workers, labour tenants, or any citizens living in rural areas."

He insisted that the ANC was also concerned that there were still people in rural areas who remained vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and that "we would not tolerate the abuse of farm workers and farm dwellers, and that farming communities should eradicate such abuse where it was found".

He expressed concern that since 1994, commercial agriculture has continued to develop in a manner that is characterised by amongst others a growing monopoly ownership, capital intensity, job-shedding and the casualisation of labour, and that it was in the interest of the farming communities, government and rural areas that all, including commercial farmers, work together to ensure a smooth redistribution of 30 percent of agricultural land before 2014.

"The country," he said. "should not shy away from issues pertaining to the rights of farmers and their workers.

That again is entirely consistent with ANC policy and COSATU particularly appreciates his clear condemnation of the abuse of farm workers.

Affirmative action

In his speech to Solidarity on affirmative action he did not question his, or the ANC's, commitment to the policy. He insisted that it was needed to ensure the sustainability of freedom and economic growth. But he reassured his white audience that they had no other home than South Africa and as such they should be taken seriously, particularly the concern that young white South Africans feel they cannot enter the labour market, and the fact that positions remain unfilled because the necessary affirmative action skills are not available.

He promised to "find time to engage on these issues thoroughly and see how we can find common ground, for the common good of the country. We all seek a society in which no person is privileged at the expense of another, and that no person is oppressed for the benefit of another."

That is quite clearly a concern about the possible mis-application of affirmative action and not a retreat from the policy

Death penalty
On the reintroduction of the death penalty, Zuma was adamant that this had been outlawed by the Constitutional Court and that he was not calling for the return of the death penalty.

He stressed however that people have the right to their point of view and must voice their views about the matter. "If the population is not happy, then let the population tell us what needs to be done."

It was a call for debate and discussion on policy issues. This has been a welcome feature of all the ANC President's recent speeches, which COSATU warmly welcomes - a refreshing change from the top-down imposition of 'non-negotiable' policies practiced by the previous ANC leadership.

COSATU, while jealously reserving the right to defend its own policies and the interests of its members, reaffirms its solidarity and support for the new ANC leadership, and pledges to do everything it can to implement the pro-poor an pro-working class policies adopted at Polokwane.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)

Congress of South African Trade Unions

1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets

Braamfontein, 2017

P.O. Box 1019

Johannesburg, 2000

SOUTH AFRICA

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24

Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667

Cell: 0828217456

E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za