The Congress of South African Trade Unions is deeply disappointed by the actions of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association {MKMVA} leaders, Cde Kebby Maphatsoe and Cde Des Van Rooyen, of publicly condemning another minister {Cde Pravin Gordhan} using their different political hats as a justification. We find this insincere and distasteful because these ministers have many forums available at their disposal to internally discuss this matter and raise their views inside the ANC. 

These comrades are all ANC ministers ,serving one cabinet and one organisation and do not need press conferences to engage and reconcile their positions.  The MKMVA leadership is continuing to propagate the same factional battles of the ANC that have eroded the overwhelming support that the ANC-led Alliance enjoyed amongst the masses of our people While COSATU remain suspicious of any vicarious adoration of one individual and also remain opposed to any attempts to create the cult of personality around Cde Pravin Gordhan; we do not think this factional driven thrash talking in the media by leaders of the MKMVA is necessary and helpful.

Their reckless statements and actions are starting to give credence to the accusation by some that the Hawks’ investigation and pursuit of Cde Pravin Gordhan is nothing but political persecution. We want to remind the MKMVA that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.

Cde Pravin has every right to do what he did and if we, as the Alliance, are going to proclaim ourselves the defenders of freedom, we need to defend his freedom to question and challenge the Hawks’ actions.

The time has arrived for the ANC and its alliance partners to abandon this emerging and unsettling tendency of treating disagreements as warfare and of being ill disposed to dissent. We need to dry up the swamp in which the opposition parties have been feeding and breeding; but the actions like those of the MKMVA are causing alarm and dismay in the alliance structures ,while also giving considerable comfort to our enemies.

Historically, the ANC and its allies have always made a very good showing in the history of ideas and in the political and ideological disputations, but lately we are seeing more factional statements that only serve to inflame the same moronic inferno that was rejected by the voters. Our contribution to the public discourse should help us unite our thoughts and views and also to define our general line of thought and action.

Issued by COSATU