Mtolo to apologise over Nehawu remarks, while the union withdraws court bid

KwaZulu-Natal ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo has agreed to apologise for criticising Nehawu during a public event in July. During the event, he accused union members of not effectively performing their duties in the public sector.

Party general secretary Fikile Mbalula described Mtolo's remarks as “unfortunate” and “overboard” after a bilateral meeting at Luthuli House to hash things out.

“We convened a meeting to address the challenges that have polarised relations between the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and Nehawu. The meeting was cordial, robust and honest, and the articulation of the effect of Mtolo’s remarks on members of Nehawu was cordial. 

“In our robust engagements on matters of mutual interest, we agreed that members of the alliance and, by extension, their affiliates are independent organisations that are well within their rights in expressing dissenting views on the policy positions and decisions of the ANC.

“However, the alliance partners have always differed on a variety of issues and we have always managed to engage on issues by ensuring that the space for political engagements remains open,” Mbalula said.

Mtolo accused Nehawu workers of poor service delivery at public sector facilities, saying the poor service and long queues at Home Affairs offices, clinics and Sassa facilities were primarily due to workers not doing their jobs properly.

Mbalula said the meeting first sought to understand what caused the quarrel, which Mtolo clarified was instigated by SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila's inputs at another political event.

“A question that needed to be answered was what necessitated those remarks, and Mtolo explained that it was a reaction to the inputs made by the general secretary of SACP at a Nehawu political school.

“Nehawu explained it was a political school for the ideological training of its members, and many members of the alliance came to the school and expressed their viewpoints. The views they expressed at the platform do not represent Nehawu's disposition, Nehawu can speak for itself. Even if that was the case, if we were to engage with the remarks of the general secretary, we also need to have constructive and substantive political engagement, not with howling and attacks on the union.”

Mbalula insisted that the apology and retraction was not imposed on Mtolo but rather was the outcome of constructive engagement and voluntary admission of guilt.

“The retraction is unconditional, and it follows a process of engagement, where comrade Mtolo politically has independently seen that the remarks were misplaced and overboard. For that reason, the remarks will be withdrawn — not as an imposition but as something that arose out of our talks with comrades from Nehawu.

“Damaging as they are, we are happy that those remarks that were made, which were unfortunate, have been withdrawn. This message will be communicated to all members of Nehawu, and the apology will be made public.”

The ANC's secretary-general cautioned against political differences, leaving the alliance vulnerable to personal attacks and labels, saying it was not the way to do things.

“Mtolo’s remarks were unfortunate, and the platform chosen to air such views fuelled the tensions rather than a constructive political engagement between members of the alliance. We are happy that this afternoon we have announced a major breakthrough between members of the alliance and our structure of the ANC in KZN.”

In addition to Mtolo's apology, the union has also committed to withdraw the court challenge against the ANC and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary in this regard.

The alliance is expected to host a joint programme in the province, alongside Cosatu and Nehawu, to engage with workers and clear the air in an attempt to erase tensions caused by the political flare-up.

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