MAKHADO – The General Secretary of Cosatu, Mr Zwelinzima Vavi, said that the two charges of corruption against the axed deputy president, Jacob Zuma, must be dropped and he should be reinstated in his position. Vavi addressed hundreds of workers under the banner of his federation at the local show grounds on Tuesday.

Vavi’s visit to Limpopo was part of the trade union’s programme of its leadership’s directly interacting with workers, visiting factories and farms in order to evaluate workers’ conditions as well as discussing the challenges faced by the federation. He said that all cowards and lazy people who agreed to be elected as representatives of workers are going to be removed.

“We want to stop racism in our work places, we want to fight job losses, temporisation of workers, casualisation, and work towards the creation of jobs and the promotion of women and individuals with disabilities. We want to kick out all cowards and lazy people, because we believe in leadership of men and women who will be prepared to fight tooth and nail for what is correct,” he said.

Vavi said that local workers should produce 70% of the products sold in stores. “We want to teach these capitalists a lesson and if they continue refusing to meet our demands, they will see more legitimate troubles in the country. On October 25, in this province, workers affiliated with this federation will embark on a full day stay-away strike, unless the employers say want to talk seriously this time around,” he claimed.

Vavi said that the Government is using the National Prosecuting Authority and the media to run the massive controversy of the dismissal of Jacob Zuma as deputy president of the country. “We’ve never seen a person put in trial in the media like Jacob Zuma. We’ve never seen the government decision leaked to the media to damage, ruin and discredit someone’s chances of becoming the country’s president in 2009, except in this country,” he said. The general secretary of the federation, which is celebrating 20 years of existence, said that Cosatu’s views on Zuma’s issue is that it seems as if there is a politically inspired conspiracy, further referring to it as the off-record briefing, leaking of information and a political strategy which must be condemned by workers in the country.

Vavi reminded workers that, as they know that Zuma is unemployed, they must donate their money on a voluntary basis to contribute to pay for the legal defence costs as the justice department requires that one must get legal representatives to defend oneself in the court.