The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has made a significant declaration reaffirming its non-partisan role within the tripartite alliance ahead of the elections with ANC and SACP contesting elections independently from each other.
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Ahead of what can be termed the most brutal local government elections, with the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP) not seeing eye to eye, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has given itself the task of convening a meeting between the three formidable alliance partners.
This comes as the labour federation has reaffirmed its role as a non-partisan partner within the tripartite alliance, a decision underscored during a recent press briefing following its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on August 25, following the establishment of an Alliance Political Council to oversee discussions among the three alliance partners.
"Even with the SACP contesting elections, and Cosatu respects the decision of the SACP to contest elections, that is why the Central Committee of Cosatu, the 8th Central Committee, directed us to convene the Alliance Political Council so that our political alliance partners can find modalities on how they are going to contest elections in a manner that they will... So, the SACP will contest elections, the ANC will contest elections, what are the modalities of doing that," said Cosatu's first deputy president Mike Shingange during a press briefing on Saturday.
At what is seen as a critical juncture, Cosatu’s leadership has also taken a firm stance on the ongoing migration crisis that has strained relations between South Africa and several neighbouring countries. Reports highlight that more than 200,000 migrants have fled South Africa, with returnees originating from countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Nigeria, exacerbated by large-scale protests against difficult socio-economic conditions earlier this year.
Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi and first deputy Mike Shingange voiced concerns about the worsening state of migration across the continent. Losi argued that South Africa cannot be expected to tackle the migration issue alone, calling on African leaders to collectively address the situations driving their citizens to seek refuge elsewhere.
"South Africa on its own cannot take responsibility for issues of migration outside the entire leadership of the African continent. You can't have leaders who, when they go to Geneva, when they go to the UN, when they go elsewhere, have an entourage of officials to do what? And the cost of that is enormous when people back home are left not knowing what it is, where they are going to find the next employment, and there are no commitments," Losi stated.
Echoing Losi's sentiments, Shingange asserted the necessity for African governments to cultivate conditions that would prevent citizens from feeling compelled to leave their homelands. "Nobody will willingly abandon their country for an uncomfortable foreign land unless there are pressing socio-economic and political issues or severe persecution. There ought to be a responsible way of managing the push and pull factors involved in both legal and illegal migration," he said.
As preparations continue for Cosatu’s 15th National Congress, scheduled to be convened in Midrand from September 14 to 17, the federation has called on its alliance partners to find common ground ahead of the local government elections.
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