The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the decision by comrade Zizi Kodwa, to resign as a Member of Parliament.
We had been deeply disappointed earlier when our ally, the African National Congress (ANC), in a moment of rashness chose to deploy Zizi Kodwa as a Member of Parliament.
This had been a poorly thought through and ill-considered decision by the ANC that undermined its progressive step-aside resolution for public representatives. It sent a painfully worrying question to society on the ANC’s commitment to holding its public representatives accountable and its bold and necessary renewal campaign.
Whilst we do not celebrate the difficulties that comrade Kodwa is going through and wish him well during his trial, it is not befitting to have Members of Parliament traipsing in and out of court. Nor would it have benefited the ANC in its path of renewal. COSATU appreciates that comrade Kodwa did the right thing and chose to resign from Parliament.
This sends the right message to society, that the ANC has heard the voice of workers, it is committed to cleansing itself and the nation of corruption and is willing to act when it makes mistake. This is what leadership is about and we welcome the ANC’s ability to engage in self-introspection and to act when it errs.
Other parties would do well to learn from this progressive example and precedence, including the Democratic Alliance who continues to dilly dally and harbour a Member of Parliament, Renaldo Gouws, who has been found calling for violence and spewing hate speech on social media. The same applies for other parties sending delinquents to represent the public in Parliament. It is time other parties learned from the bold stance of the ANC to hold its public representatives accountable.
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela(COSATU National Spokesperson)
Cell: 079 287 5788
Email: zanele@cosatu.org.za