'ANC lies are all that's left'

11 March 2014 - 02:01 By Olebogeng Molatlhwa and Kingdom Mabuza
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National Union of Metalworkers of SA president Andrew Chirwa.
National Union of Metalworkers of SA president Andrew Chirwa.
Image: Mohau Mofokeng/ Sowetan

The ANC was accused of being in a "permanent state of lying" by metalworkers union Numsa yesterday.

The union spoke out as President Jacob Zuma was preparing to launch today a 20-year review expected to laud the achievements of the party he leads since it came to power in 1994.

But the poor and the workers "have a bad story to tell", Numsa president Andrew Chirwa said yesterday at the union's three-day bargaining conference in Pretoria.

"We can't lie permanently to our people," Chirwa said.

"The truth is that, in 1994, all that we succeeded to do was to replace a white man with a black man. All that was associated with apartheid is still intact.

"The results of the failure to implement the Freedom Charter are the stubborn triple crises we are facing today. All that is left is to lie to our people that we have a vision and 'a good story' to tell.

"Workers and the poor in this country have a bad story to tell. We have a history of shifting goal posts."

Chirwa cited the Marikana massacre, in which, he said, workers were killed for demanding a living wage.

"Why should we believe we are not in an apartheid state?"

He said the ANC had long struggled against apartheid simply to replace white capitalists with black capitalists.

Chirwa said it would take time for some people to realise that their emotional bond with the ANC was based on historical sentiment.

"All that the ANC is doing is to be a supervisor of white capital."

He said that, unless the ANC implemented the Freedom Charter, there would be no difference between it and the DA.

Numsa has taken a harsh stance against Cosatu and the ANC since its congress in December. The union has resolved not to campaign for the ANC in the coming elections.

  • Numsa announced that it would embark on a strike against tax-incentive schemes for companies. It has been outspoken about its opposition to the youth wage subsidy.

"Cosatu is a shadow of its former self and we cannot expect Cosatu to co-ordinate a living-wage struggle."

Numsa's offices in Western Cape were vandalised and set alight last month. Cellphones and keys were stolen.

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