BL Premium reports that Zingiswa Losi, president of Cosatu, an alliance partner of the governing ANC, cautioned workers in Mbombela last week against “turning their back” on the ANC, saying socioeconomic gains the party has presided over would be reversed if it were voted out of power.

Labour unions are a key part of the ANC election machine and have traditionally used their grassroots structures to campaign for the governing party since the attainment of majority rule in 1994. But the relationship between the ANC and its alliance partners has been strained of late, with the unions accusing the ANC of reneging on wage agreements, corruption and poor service delivery. Losi's statement last Friday suggested a thawing of relations between the alliance partners, and is a shot in the arm for the ANC, which analysts and independent pollsters predict will perform poorly this time at the general elections. Losi said the ANC was not perfect and had made “serious mistakes” over the years. “Ours is not to be sentimental or emotional. Our mandate is to defend rights of workers and working class,” said Losi, who previously stated that the ANC remained the best vehicle to address worker challenges." “We dare not abandon where we are coming from and our gains, more so when challenges facing workers are great. We have much more to do, it requires all of us to support each other and be on the ground; we don’t have a moment to spare,” Losi added.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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