Cosatu yesterday reiterated its stance that politicians in public office or their family members should be barred from doing business with the government in order to curb corruption.
This was one of the demands of the federation’s Limpopo leg of the national shutdown march held in Polokwane.
Scores of workers from all affiliates of the federation joined Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila and ANC provincial secretary Reuben Madadze to hand over a memorandum to Premier Stan Mathabatha.
The march ran parallel with another organised by the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), which also marched to Mathabatha‘s office. Saftu was more hostile toward Mathabatha when he was receiving the memorandum.
Things became tense when Mathabatha refused to ascend the stage to address the members of Saftu. EFF, Azapo and the PAC members in the province also attended.
Mathabatha cited ill-health for his reason not to get on the stage. However, he obliged Cosatu when its members marched to his office an hour later.
Both federations made several demands and expressed their unhappiness with the rising cost of living, load shedding and the national living wage.
Speaking to the Pretoria News after she addressed the crowd, Losi said the federation was demanding that public office-bearers doing business with the government vacated office immediately.
“The reason for that is because we have seen in the Zondo Commission and in many instances, even in the previous administration, politicians are linked to corruption. You find their families being implicated one way or another. You find that their families become beneficiaries of state tenders and at most you find that the work that they are supposed to do is not done and people are left languishing in poverty in our country.”
Asked what difference yesterday’s march would make, Losi said the federation wouldn’t get tired of marching. “We will continue to march.”
Receiving the memorandum, Mathabatha conceded that freedom had not yet been attained.
Pretoria News