SACP, Cosatu seek greater control in alliance

Senior Alliance leaders will brief the media on the outcome of summit this morning

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) have been using the opening session of the Alliance Summit in Midrand to demand a greater say in the ANC's decision making processes.

SACP leader Blade Nzimande has called for the reconfiguration of the tripartite alliance between the ANC, Cosatu and the Communist Party. Nzimande says in the past, both Cosatu and the SACP were time and again excluded from ANC and government decisions.

Speaking during the same opening session, Cosatu's General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the ANC's Polokwane Conference opened new opportunities for the alliance to forge closer ties.

However, ANC President Jacob Zuma called on the alliance partners to respect one another and to not dictate and seek to control other partners.

The crucial Alliance Summit between the ANC, SACP, Cosatu and the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) will enter its second day at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, tomorrow. Delegates will spend the majority of the day behind closed doors to discuss ways to forge closer relations ahead of next year's general elections.

Vavi made it clear that they want a greater representation on the ANC's National Executive Committee and a formal elections pact.