SABC News Online
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Cosatu's central executive committee is meeting in Johannesburg today for the first time since its highly-contested National Congress where Willie Madisha was re-elected as president amid opposition.
There are reports that there is a plot to unseat Madisha of his presidency at the meeting. Powerful affiliates such as Nehawu are allegedly planning to use a controversial report that accuses Madisha of causing disunity and leaking information about Zwelinzima Vavi, the general-secretary to the media.
Steven Friedman, a political analyst at Idasa, says the committee must realise that Madisha was chosen by the general members and not the committee.
"None of the things which Madisha is alleged to have done in that report were done after the presidential election. The only way he can survive is if good sense prevails and the people in the CEC realise that Cosatu doesn't belong to the CEC. It belongs to its members and that delegates as members chose Madisha as president of Cosatu. Unless some sort of event happens afterwards which makes him unfit for office, they have to respect the wishes of their members, otherwise they're sending a signal that Cosatu is no longer a democratic organisation."