Zuma ‘barred’ from speaking at any official Cosatu events

In yet another, very public snub, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu0 has made it painfully clear that president – for now – Jacob Zuma will not be allowed to address any central committee meetings, or official Cosatu events for that matter.

BusinessLive reports that the federation’s central executive committee over the weekend said that they would prefer it if deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, not Zuma, address their central committee meeting set to kick off on June 1.

Both the ANC’s Tripartite Alliance members – the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Cosatu –  have endorsed deputy ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa for party presidency, while Zuma and his allies have been pushing hard for his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to take over the reins when the party elects a new leader in December.

Watch: Baleka Mbete accidentally calls Cyril Ramaphosa the Hon. President, parliament erupts

The Tripartite Alliance has come under increasing pressure, as Zuma and his allies have lashed out at the SACP and Cosatu for insisting that he resign in the wake of his last cabinet reshuffle blunder, but the partners have stood firm. The tension between the ANC and those who’ve kept it in power came to breaking point on may the 1^st when Alliance Partner members booed president Zuma, before he could even address crowds at a May day celebration.

Cosatu’s central executive committee has indicated that it will be writing to the ANC to ask that Ramaphosa address supporters next week, not Zuma, but the ANC has indicated that it might not send anyone at all.

While Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma started her ascent to the ANC’s top job well in the lead, Cyril Ramaphosa has garnered the support of both ANC alliance partners – the ruling party will need their support if it hopes to win the 2019 election – as well as provincial ANC branches in Gauteng, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.