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S. Africa's union federation disappointed at ANC's poor election performance

Xinhua, August 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) on Monday expressed disappointment at the ruling African National Congress' (ANC's) poor performance in the local government elections.

The national federation "has noted with unease and disappointment that the ANC's share of the national vote has decreased dramatically during these past elections", COSATU national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said.

COSATU, a coalition partner of the ANC, called on millions of its members to vote for the ANC before the elections.

"We also find it lamentable that the movement (ANC) has failed to hold on to some the big metropolitan municipalities across the country," Pamla said.

The ANC lost the administrative capital of Pretoria and the strategic Nelson Mandela Bay to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and also failed to get more than 50 percent of the votes in the economic powerhouse of Johannesburg, the biggest setback since it took power in 1994.

Nationwide, support for the ANC dropped from 61.9 percent in 2011 to 53.91 percent this year.

The elections took place in the midst of a stagnant economy with high unemployment, poverty and inequalities. Many of the voters have also been left torn apart and disappointed by the scale of corruption and some of the service delivery failures.

There is a need for deep reflection and analysis of the outcomes of this past electoral contest, especially on what they represent and mean for the revolution, Pamla said.

"The narrow focus on internal factional battles, the corruption scandals and the growing distance from the people have gradually eroded its high moral ground and weakened its political capacity and that of its leadership," said Pamla.

The ANC needs to go back to the people of South Africa and embark on a listening campaign that will include doing something drastic to kick-start the economy that has alienated many people, banning labour brokers that have created the underclass of the working poor, and also doing away with the universally rejected e-tolls in Gauteng Province, added the spokesperson. Enditem