NEC debates pacts, alliances and PolokwaneNumsa held an NEC from February 23-24 2008 following an extended NEC workshop held in the 2nd week of February 2008. Alex Mashilo takes you there.

After PolokwaneThe media is being misused to create an extremely incorrect and non-existent picture that there is purging in the ANC, Enoch Godongwana, a past Numsa general secretary and now ANC NEC member, told Numsa's February NEC meeting. “There are committees in the ANC that must be led by elected NEC members.

When the NEC implements this requirement in order to comply with Polokwane, the media is used to spread false information that this is purging,” he said.

He made it clear that should the media have bothered to verify first, it would have come to understand the internal workings of the ANC.

Regarding the alliance meetings, Godongwana faced a question relating to multi-capping: “Given that SACP leadership has increased in both the NEC and NWC of the ANC, which organisation will they represent when the alliance holds a meeting, at the summit for example?

Godongwana replied that once leaders are part of the ANC delegation to an alliance meeting, they must represent and advocate the positions of the ANC.

The same will apply with any leader forming part of the SACP delegation. “Regardless of whether they are ANC leaders, they must represent the views of the SACP,” he said.

Another stated that “There are persons who are either accused or identified as having not supported comrade Jacob Zuma for ANC president.

As such we target to either remove them or not elect them in some of our congress organisations. What’s the view of the ANC on this?” “That’s wrong,” said Godongwana. “It should not happen.

Not even in the trade union movement. It’s definitely not for the ANC!” He stated that in some European countries, trade unions were weakened and nearly got destroyed when members voted for their leadership along the lines of political parties.

He emphasised that such a phenomenon, which would be factional, must not happen in trade unions. Godongwana then asked how Numsa members would feel should the ANC identify a list of preferred leaders for Numsa.

With none welcoming that, he said: “You see! That’s why the ANC doesn’t want any of our organisations to make a preferred list for ANC leadership.

Returning back to the alliance, Godongwana was clear that relations between alliance formations mustn’t be personalised.

Just think of a situation where individual leaders of alliance formations are not in a good mood with each other. Must this affect the relations between their respective formations?

If this did, then it would be wrong in the extreme.” He further said that the alliance formations must re-look at their public arena engagements. “If these are negative, they unnecessarily constitute potholes for alliance meetings.

As such, the probability of such meetings not being fruitful because of petty squabbles becomes very high, which compromises matters of content,” he said.

He emphasised that individuals, regardless of their contribution to the struggle, come and go.

He closed the matter by reiterating that alliance relations aren’t, and shouldn’t be, based on individuals. Godongwana told the Numsa NEC that he believed Jacob Zuma had been misinterpreted as saying there will be no policy change.

What the media didn't understand is that he was saying that it is the ANC that makes its own policy, not individuals who get elected or replaced.

He finally advised the Numsa representatives to focus their attention on policy substance rather than grievances.

In this regard he was enlightened that there’s a policy substance process through which Numsa will make submissions to Cosatu and deal with the Industrial Policy Framework.

Ilungu le-ANC NEC licacisa i-Numsa NEC”Akulungile, akufanele kwenzeke”, kwakuwunobhala jikelele wangaphambili we-Numsa oseyilungu le-ANC NEC manje, impendulo ka-Enoch Godongwane lapho etshelwa izithunywa ze-Numsa NEC zezinhlangano zengqungquthela esezisusa abantu ababekwa icala noma abakhonjwa njengabangamesekanga u-comrade Jacob Zuma ekubeni uMongameli we-ANC ngonyaka odlule.

Maqondana nodaba lwabantu ababegqoke izigqoko ezingaphezu kwesisodwa emihlanganweni yombimbi, uGodongwana uchaza ukuthi umuntu owayengaphansi kwakho kokubili i-SACP kanye ne-ANC, lowo muntu wayenomsebenzi wokumelela izithunywa ayeyingxenye yazo kulowo mhlangano.

Lid van ANC NEC gee duidelikheid aan Numsa NEC“Dis verkeerd; dit moenie gebeur nie”. Só het Enoch Godongwana, voormalige Algemene Sekretaris by Numsa en nou lid van die ANC se NEC, gereageer toe hy deur Numsa se NEC ingelig is dat sommige organisasies in die kongresbeweging nou mense verwyder wat daarvan beskuldig word of geïdentifiseer word as mense wat nie verlede jaar kameraad Jacob Zuma gesteun het as president van die ANC nie.

In verband met die kwessie dat individue by vergaderings van die alliansie nie op meer as een stoel mag sit nie, het Godongwana dit duidelik gestel dat as iemand aan sowel die SACP as die ANC behoort, die persoon dan die verantwoordelikheid het om dié afvaardiging waarvan hy of sy in daardie spesifieke vergadering deel is, te verteenwoordig.

Setho sa Komiti ya Phethahatso ya Naha ya ANC se hlakisetsa Komiti ya Phethahatso ya Naha ya Numsa“Ho fosahetse, ha ho a tshwanela ho etsahala,” a na ke mantswe a eo e neng e le mongodi kakaretso wa Numsa mme ha jwale e leng setho sa Komiti ya Phethahatso ya Naha ya ANC, Enoch Godongwana ha a ne a araba ka mora ho bolellwa ke baromuwa ba Komiti ya Phethahatso ya Naha ya Numsa ka ditlhophiso tsa khonkrese moo jwale ho seng ho ntshwa batho ba qoswang ka hore ba ne ba sa tshehetse comrade Jacob Zuma ho ba mopresidente wa ANC selemong se fetileng. Mabapi le batho ba tshehetsang mahlakore a fetang le le leng dikopanong tsa selekane, Godongwana o hlakisitse taba ya hore ha motho a le setho sa SACP le sa ANC, moo motho eo o na le boikarabelo ba ho emela boromuwa boo a leng karolo ya bona kopanong eo. Alliance pact and policy work

The NEC also considered what economic policy content the alliance pact should have.

It reflected on the quality of economic policy advice Cosatu received from the Economic Trends Group (ETG) in the early 1990s.

ETG was a well organised, coherent group of over 20 economists with strong and varied skills. Cosatu took this advice seriously and incorporated it into its economic policy positions through democratic participation.

In the same period a Macroeconomic Policy Research Group (MERG) was established. The MERG was a research arm and think tank set up to help the mass democratic movement develop a better understanding of economic policy issues.

Learning from these experiences, the NEC believed that a well coordinated, organised and resourced research agenda has a positive impact on policy making.

The NEC agreed there was a need for Cosatu to establish a standing economic research group and think tank.

To complement this, the NEC agreed that Numsa should boost its own internal research capacity. This would be in addition to speeding up the training of cadres to be deployed into Research and Development Groups (RDGs).

Research was critical if Numsa was to engage meaningfully on policy in the sectors it organises. Likewise Cosatu needed its own research to assert workers’ authority in the alliance and society at large.

The NEC agreed to put this proposal to the Cosatu Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Source

Numsa News