COSATU’s September Crossroads

By CHRIS MAKHAYE

THE Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) will only decide in September whether it continues to back the ANC or shifts its support to the SACP in the upcoming local government elections, as fractures in the tripartite alliance take a dramatic turn for the worst.

The federation’s 15th National Elective Congress will not only determine COSATU’s political direction but will also elect new leadership, with the presidency and other top positions expected to be contested. Current leaders, including President Zingiswa Losi, have not yet indicated whether they will seek re‑election, adding to the uncertainty.

ANC’s Weak Showing and the GNU

The crisis follows the ANC’s poor performance in the 2024 general elections, where it secured just 40% of the vote. For the first time since 1994, the party was forced to turn to rivals — the Democratic Alliance and other centrist parties — to cobble together a coalition government, dubbed the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The relationship between the ANC and the SACP has been frosty in recent years, but tensions escalated sharply after the 2024 elections. The SACP became vocal in its opposition to the GNU, arguing that the ANC had abandoned its working‑class base by partnering with right‑of‑centre parties. At the time, SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila said he would have preferred an alliance with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), rather than the DA. The party’s decision to contest the upcoming local elections independently stems largely from this discontent.

SACP Breaks Away

Mapaila recently reaffirmed the SACP’s plan to go it alone: “We cannot continue to be spectators while the interests of workers and the poor are sidelined. The SACP will contest to ensure their struggles are represented at the ballot box.” ANC Secretary‑General Fikile Mbalula responded by warning that the SACP’s move risks dividing the movement and undermining the unity that brought freedom.

COSATU’s Own Challenges

During an interview with The Quest this week COSATU spokesperson Zanele Sabela said the federation derives its mandate directly from workers and acknowledged that the alliance is under strain. She explained that COSATU has a standing resolution to support the ANC at the ballot box, but all resolutions will be reviewed at the September congress.

“COSATU is deeply concerned about the state of the Alliance, particularly after the 2024 election results, where for the first time the Alliance did not secure an outright majority. We have also been worried by the continuous haemorrhaging of support over the years with new splinter parties forming with each election,” Sabela said.

She added: “COSATU’s Central Committee in September 2025 mandated its leadership to engage the ANC and the SACP on matters that have frustrated workers including government’s economic policies, budget cuts, slow economic growth and high unemployment. We have appealed to our Alliance partners for an urgent Alliance Political Council to resolve these matters, including how to ensure that the Alliance approaches the local elections with a unified and coherent election campaign. It’s key for all Alliance partners to work together at all times to unite and strengthen the Alliance and to avoid actions which may do the opposite.”

COSATU president Zingiswa Losi. The federation will meet in September.

Yet COSATU has challenges of its own. In 2017, its then lagerst union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) broke away to form the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), led by former COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. The split weakened COSATU’s influence and exposed divisions within the labour movement. Observers note that in recent years the tripartite alliance has existed more in words than in practice, with its components drifting apart on key issues such as economic policy and coalition politics.

Decision time

With the local government elections expected between November 2026 and January 2027, COSATU’s September congress will be decisive. It must choose whether to remain aligned with the ANC, shift towards the SACP, or attempt to hold the alliance together. At the same time, leadership contests could reshape COSATU internally, influencing how it navigates one of the most serious fractures in the alliance since its formation. The congress may well determine not only COSATU’s future, but the fate of the alliance itself.

Zakhele Ndlovu, an independent political analyst and senior politics lecturer at the University of Natal, said the decision by the SACP to contest elections on its own, without the ANC poses danger for the ANC and a dilemma for COSATU.

"The popularity of the ANC has been waning over the years. This was evidenced by the party's poor showing in the 2024 general elections. Now, it will face further decline due to the evidence brought by different witnesses both at the Madlanga Commission and the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee. Over and above that, it has admitted that it has failed to keep the SACP in the tripartite alliance tent. Now, COSATU is ideologically closer to SACP. It would be interesting which way will COSATU side in confrontation between its two alliance partners," he said. TQ