The African National Congress (ANC) needs decisive leadership, not just "beautiful speeches" to overcome disunity in the party, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Thursday.

Addressing the national congress of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) in Cape Town, he also repeated his warning that South Africa was headed for a "predatory State".

Vavi, who has been attending the ANC's national general council (NGC) meeting in Durban, told delegates that no movement could succeed in its mission if it was divided.

"There can be no unity in the ANC unless there is cohesion and discipline, and discipline has been lacking in the movement," he said.

He said that he was happy that the NGC was following the leadership shown on this issue by party president Jacob Zuma.

"What we need beyond the NGC is not the beautiful speeches about discipline and internal cohesion," Vavi said.

"What we need is leadership that will act decisively, uncompromisingly, against all of those hell-bent on creating disunity within the ANC and in the alliance as a whole."

He said that corruption was a cancer, threatening the foundations of democracy.

Of particular concern was the tendency of "tenderpreneurs" which had infiltrated the ANC itself.

"If the broad liberation movement does not act decisively... we are heading rapidly in the direction of a full-blown predator state, in which a powerful, corrupt and demagogic elite of political hyenas will increasingly control the state as a vehicle for self-enrichment," he said.

Public representatives should be forced to choose whether they were public servants or were in business to make profits.