Accept JZ offer - Vavi told

Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi has been asked to reconsider President Jacob Zuma's request that he accept a position on the ANC's powerful national executive committee.

Cedric Gina, president of the National Union of Metalworkers, said yesterday that Zuma's offer should be considered.

Speaking at Numsa's regional elective conference in Pretoria, Gina said Zuma's invitation and Vavi's rejection of it would be discussed at the coming meeting of the Cosatu central committee's political commission.

"To say that you cannot avail yourself to the national executive committee when you are a member of the ANC is not a way to respond to [Zuma's invitation]," he said.

"Second, [for Vavi] to say that you comrades will be confused [is incorrect]. We don't think that members of Cosatu will be confused [if] the general secretary of Cosatu is a member of the national executive committee elected at the conference of the ANC."

Zuma recently told the Numsa political commission that the working class should aspire to executive positions in the ANC in order to influence policy.

Vavi responded by telling journalists about a week ago that union leaders such as he should not hold an executive position in the ANC because it would confuse workers.

His alliance partner in the SA Communist Party, Blade Nzimande, has been told to quit as a minister in Zuma's government and focus on SACP work.

Nzimande dismissed the call.

Gina said yesterday that Numsa would soon talk to Cosatu about Zuma's invitation.

"I hope the media will not make me fight with my general secretary [Vavi]," he added.

Gina launched a scathing attack on former president FW de Klerk for his comments criticising the ANC's intention to make changes to the constitution.

"We see that he [De Klerk] has arisen from obscurity, from death, in the recent past, because of the release of ANC policy documents.

"We think the ANC as the ruling party has the right to tamper with the constitution because, after 18 years, the ANC has realised there are some things [you cannot implement under] that constitution.

"We think Mr FW de Klerk must relax . We believe it is the constitution that has tied the hands of the ANC in terms of doing revolutionary things for our people.

"Whether De Klerk likes it [or not], whether Helen Zille [DA leader] likes it or not, we think the ANC must [reconsider] the constitution so that we may be able to deliver some of the things we have been battling to deliver to our people," Gina said.