POLITICAL WEEK AHEAD: Cosatu gathering to tackle discord
by Troye Lund,
2015-07-13 06:18:00.0
THE week will kick off with the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (Cosatu’s) special national congress. The three-day meeting in Johannesburg is the culmination of more than two years of fighting between the federation’s two main factions, led by Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini and expelled general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Although they are not on the agenda, seven Cosatu-affiliated unions that support Vavi have promised to ensure that his expulsion and that of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) are "centre stage". These unions are outnumbered by Dlamini supporters, but there is a potential game-changer. The leadership change in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) could play into Vavi’s hands if newly elected leader David Sipunzi aligns with him for the sake of unity. The theme of the congress is leadership and unity.
The South African Brics Think Tank will hold a briefing on Monday on the key decisions adopted by the heads of state who attended the Brics summit in Ufa in Russia last week. The briefing, led by the body’s chairwoman Olive Shisana, will cover economic co-operation and peace and security issues.
On Tuesday the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will hold a briefing to explain its decision to walk out of gold sector wage talks. Amcu is the second-largest union in the sector. The NUM, Solidarity and United Association of SA are still negotiating with the Chamber of Mines. After Amcu’s walkout last week, union treasurer Jimmy Gama said the union "felt very strongly" that a dispute-resolution process would yield more results.
On Thursday the Gauteng provincial government will host a two-day conference in a bid to attract private sector investment in infrastructure in the province.
Saturday marks Mandela Day. The UN declared July 18 Mandela Day in 2009 and it is now observed in 126 countries.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane will embark on the second leg of his national Vision 2029 Tour at the weekend. After having started in KwaZulu-Natal, this weekend will see him in Gauteng where the DA hopes to win one of the three metropolitan city councils in the 2016 local government elections.
President Jacob Zuma is expected to indicate this week when he will meet with the judiciary to address concerns raised by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and 27 judges around the executive’s compliance with the rule of law and criticism of the judiciary.
The Cabinet defied the government’s international legal obligations as well as a High Court order to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Bashir when he visited SA for the African Union summit last month. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe added his voice to a litany of harsh criticism of the judiciary after the ruling. Mr Mantashe named the high courts in Pretoria and Cape Town, saying that the judiciary was driven to "create chaos for governance".
Sdumo Dlamini. Picture: GALLO IMAGES
THE week will kick off with the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (Cosatu’s) special national congress. The three-day meeting in Johannesburg is the culmination of more than two years of fighting between the federation’s two main factions, led by Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini and expelled general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Although they are not on the agenda, seven Cosatu-affiliated unions that support Vavi have promised to ensure that his expulsion and that of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) are "centre stage". These unions are outnumbered by Dlamini supporters, but there is a potential game-changer. The leadership change in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) could play into Vavi’s hands if newly elected leader David Sipunzi aligns with him for the sake of unity. The theme of the congress is leadership and unity.
The South African Brics Think Tank will hold a briefing on Monday on the key decisions adopted by the heads of state who attended the Brics summit in Ufa in Russia last week. The briefing, led by the body’s chairwoman Olive Shisana, will cover economic co-operation and peace and security issues.
On Tuesday the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will hold a briefing to explain its decision to walk out of gold sector wage talks. Amcu is the second-largest union in the sector. The NUM, Solidarity and United Association of SA are still negotiating with the Chamber of Mines. After Amcu’s walkout last week, union treasurer Jimmy Gama said the union "felt very strongly" that a dispute-resolution process would yield more results.
On Thursday the Gauteng provincial government will host a two-day conference in a bid to attract private sector investment in infrastructure in the province.
Saturday marks Mandela Day. The UN declared July 18 Mandela Day in 2009 and it is now observed in 126 countries.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane will embark on the second leg of his national Vision 2029 Tour at the weekend. After having started in KwaZulu-Natal, this weekend will see him in Gauteng where the DA hopes to win one of the three metropolitan city councils in the 2016 local government elections.
President Jacob Zuma is expected to indicate this week when he will meet with the judiciary to address concerns raised by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and 27 judges around the executive’s compliance with the rule of law and criticism of the judiciary.
The Cabinet defied the government’s international legal obligations as well as a High Court order to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Bashir when he visited SA for the African Union summit last month. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe added his voice to a litany of harsh criticism of the judiciary after the ruling. Mr Mantashe named the high courts in Pretoria and Cape Town, saying that the judiciary was driven to "create chaos for governance".
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