ITUMELENG MAFISA
DESPITE emerging victorious at the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) second elective congress, the federations general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said he was still hurt by a political ploy that painted him as a thief.
Vavi contested for the position of general-secretary which he occupied already and won with over 350 votes.
This did not stop him from expressing how hurt he was by a devised plot that was meant to paint him as corrupt and abusing Saftu funds with his family.
"I must be honest, the scars remain open very wide and, on my part, I am angered by campaigns to attack my integrity throughout the campaigning period and by the extent that people were willing to lie in an attempt to discredit me as a corrupt individual," Vavi said.
He said there were claims that his sons were taking their girlfriends out with Saftu’s money and that he had spent around R4 million of the federation’s funds.
"People were circulating messages that my own children were able to take their girlfriends to parties using the cause of the federations card. I am angered by many allegations," he said.
Vavi told delegates at the congress that his hand should be cut off if evidence was to emerge that he had abused the federations debit card.
The matter of the misappropriation of funds nearly tore the federation apart with suspensions of leaders who suspended Vavi for financial misconduct being a point of division in the congress.
"We have declared in this congress that the misinformation era, the factions, the divisions, the cliques that were created, all of those were part of a democratic process unfolding in the federation. It may have brought some unfortunate cultures right into the fold," he said.
Following threats by the National Union of Metals Workers SA (Numsa) to return to Cosatu, it was evident that there were clear differences between Vavi and his Numsa counterpart Irvin Jim.
Vavi admitted that there were differences but said they were magnified by the fact that he and Jim are old friends and whose families had also become close over the years.
"Our relationship was deep. It was a relationship between families which goes way back and as soon as there is rising tensions between us on the basis of whatever political or ideological difference, that is bound to raise more dust than if I were to disagree with someone that I don't have a long history with," Vavi said.
Numsa is the biggest union in Saftu together with the Food and Allied Workers Union.
Regardless of the differences between himself and Jim, Vavi said he believed that Numsa would not leave Saftu.
"There is no chance of that happening in a million years," Vavi said.
Delegates at the congress had given clear instructions to the newly-elected office bearers that, should any of them sow division in the federation, they would be dealt with.
Some unions had also expressed disappointment in the negative media reports that reflected the congress. But, Jim told the delegates that the media was reflecting what had been "volunteered" to them by the congress.