[YCLSA Discussion] Re: JOINT SACP AND COSATU pathetic STATEMENT

[Dominic Tweedie]

A BMW 7-Series is not an extravagance. A BMW 7-series is not "bling". This car is a good, practical choice for a minister in a large country like ours. It is a car that is designed for this kind of duty. It is a working piece of machinery.   This matter should have been left with the DA, and allowed to die of its own accord, because it is essentially nonsense.   If this particular media release was intended to quieten the story down, then it was not very well thought through. Of course, in the intention of one of the signatories, it was not actually intended to quieten things down. It was designed to add fuel to the flames.   It raises new questions.   Why does the national minister have to "express regret" for selecting a suitable tool for the job? Why does COSATU feel itself to be in a position to "accept this apology", on behalf of the nation? Why should COSATU’s “acceptance of apology” not be called arrogance of the highest order?   When, precisely, did the minister “express regret”, and in what capacity did he do so?   Just before the last Congress of COSATU, the liar Willie Madisha started a story about COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi using his credit card, or some such nonsense. We fought hard to defend Vavi against the liar, and we did defend Vavi successfully.   Now, just before the COSATU and SACP Congresses, Vavi’s handlanger Craven – the one who always “can’t understand” - has started a smear campaign against SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande. Or in fact did not even start it, but picked it up where the DA had left it.   I would like to see Craven’s apology now, or better still, his resignation. This is not a good time for liberals who “fail to understand” to be fiddling and fooling around with the reputations of serious people.   VC   JOINT SACP AND COSATU STATEMENT The SACP and COSATU wish to dismiss reports of supposed rift between our two organisations stemming from COSATU’s views on the issue of the procurement of Ministerial vehicles. Media reports on this have sought to pit COSATU and the SACP against each other, hinting that, in expressing its view that vehicles over R1m should be returned, COSATU had “turned on” the SACP General Secretary, Cde Blade Nzimande. The fraternal bonds between our two organisations have withstood time and many testing issues, and will never be shaken as long as we share a strong commitment to advancing the interests of the working class. The strength of our relationship allows for open engagement and the holding of different views from time to time.     In this regard we accept that, while the purchase of the vehicle was handled by officials of the Department of Higher Education and Training, Cde Blade Nzimande in his capacity as Minister should have taken a more hands-on approach to ensure a more cost effective procurement. We also accept that any vehicle purchased for use by Cde Blade needs to take into account VIP Protection security requirements. Cde Blade has already expressed regret for any offence caused by this matter and COSATU accepts this apology. We will await a response on behalf of the Cabinet collective regarding the vehicles. COSATU and the SACP will continue to work together in assisting our government to improve control over government expenditure.   Malesela Maleka SACP Spokesperson – 082 226 1802   Patrick Craven COSATU Spokesperson – 082 821 7456   --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to yclsa-eom-forum@googlegroups.com or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email yclsa-eom-forum-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): yclsa-eom-forum-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---