Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 4 March 2026 #IWD2026
Norman Mampane
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Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
4 March 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Media Invite: SAMWU to convene its 13th National Congress under the theme “Towards 4 Decades and Beyond in Defence of Workers’ Interests”
- South Africa
- COSATU saddened by the passing of Lekota
- President Cyril Ramaphosa extends condolences on the passing of Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota
- SACP Statement of condolences to family of Mosiuoa "Terror" Lekota
- COSATU Gauteng on the DA’s Billboard Attacking Premier Panyaza Lesufi
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- World Federation of Democratic Youth calls for international solidarity with the people of Lebanon
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU fully supports the Insourcing Bill before Parliament
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 04 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) presented its submission on the Insourcing Bill to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee: Public Service and Administration.
The Federation fully supports the Insourcing Bill before Parliament. This long overdue Bill requires public service departments to insource security, cleaning, maintenance, IT, auditing amongst other routine functions and, where this is not possible, to seek authorisation for such an exemption.
This progressive Bill speaks to COSATU’s demands to insource key functions performed by the state. It responds to long-standing resolutions of COSATU and our alliance partners, the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party.
The call to insource has been a cry for thousands of workers who have seen their labour rights undermined and conditions of service deteriorate as they have been outsourced across the state over many years.
Outsourcing has been a key ingredient for state capture and corruption across the state with incestuous collaboration by corrupt elements in the public and private sectors. It has not only weakened state capacity to deliver the public and municipal services that the working class and the economy depend upon, it has bled the state of scarce resources needed to fund hospitals, schools, policing and other frontline services.
If we are to win the war against the cancer of state capture and corruption, then such functions must be insourced. We cannot continue to be shocked, condemn or hide from media headlines of countless politicians, tenderpreneurs and their families receiving grotesquely inflated tenders whilst failing to deliver the goods, and yet we fail to act on this shameful and dangerous hollowing out of the state.
COSATU commends the sponsor of the Bill, the Honourable Ms. Omphile Maotwe, for her leadership in bringing it to Parliament. We support any Member of Parliament, irrespective of which party they represent when they table progressive Bills speaking to the hopes and aspirations of the working class.
The Bill will not only improve the working conditions of such workers, but it will also further spur the dismantling of state capture networks across the state, as well as save a badly overstretched fiscus billions of Rands better spent delivering frontline public services. This Bill provides a fair and common-sense path to end this fragmentation of the state.
COSATU welcomes this timely Bill and will mobilise its full support to ensure its speedy passage by Parliament and assenting into law by the President, Cyril Ramaphosa. We urge government, the ANC and all other parties in Parliament to support and expedite this game changing Bill, including holding public hearings on it.
Parliament can count on the unwavering support of COSATU in processing and adopting this critical Bill.
Issued by COSATU
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Media
Invite: SAMWU
to convene its 13th National Congress under the theme “Towards 4 Decades and Beyond in Defence of Workers’ Interests”
Papikie Mohale, SAMWU National Media Officer, 03 March 2026
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) will convene its 13th National Congress from 17 to 19 March 2026 at Church Unlimited, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. Held under the theme “Towards 4 Decades and Beyond in Defence of Workers’ Interests,” this Congress marks an important milestone as the Union reflects on nearly forty years of militant struggle, organisational consolidation, and unwavering defence of municipal and water sector workers.
Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the open sessions of Congress on 17 and 19 March 2026.
The Congress will be addressed by the national leadership of the Alliance partners: The African National Congress (ANC), The South African Communist Party (SACP), The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
These addresses will engage the political, economic and social challenges confronting workers and outline the programme required to defend and advance working-class interests.
The 13th National Congress will deliberate on key organisational, political and collective bargaining matters, including strategies to strengthen the Union and respond decisively to the deepening crisis in local government.
Members of the media are encouraged to confirm their attendance with the National Media Officer, Cde Papikie Mohale, at pap...@samwu.org.za in order to secure accreditation by 10 March 2026.
Please note that only accredited members of the media will be allowed access to the Congress venue.
Issued by SAMWU Secretariat
Papikie Mohale
National Media Officer
076 795 8670
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU saddened by the passing of Lekota
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 4 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is saddened to learn about the passing of Mosiuoa Patrick Lekota. He was 77 years of age.
COSATU sends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and members of the Congress of the People (COPE), a political party he led and co-founded with former General Secretary of COSATU, Mbhazima Shilowa.
Born and bred in Kroonstad in the Free State, he later enrolled for a social science degree at the University of the North. He was expelled from the institution for his political activism in 1972. Two years later, he became the permanent organiser for the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO). It was during that same year that he was imprisoned on Robben Island for "conspiring to commit acts endangering the maintenance of law and order". He was 26 at the time.
Released eight years later, the following year Lekota was elected Publicity Secretary of the United Democratic Front (UDF). A year later he was arrested once more and sentenced in the Delmas Treason Trial. On appeal, his sentence was reviewed and he was released in 1989.
In 1990 Lekota became the Convenor of the ANC in Southern Natal; the following year saw him elected to the ANC’s NEC and NWC. Following South Africa’s first democratic elections, Lekota became Premier of the Free State until 1996. He served as Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 1997 to 1999, after which he became Minister of Defence.
Lekota and Shilowa founded COPE shortly after President Thabo Mbeki’s resignation in September 2008. From the opposition benches, he became a vocal critic of the political party he had grown up in.
A much-loved figure, Lekota will be missed for his prolific oratory. The political sphere will be that much muted without his distinctive voice. South Africa is forever indebted for his dedication to the struggle and the sacrifices he was forced to make on the path to freedom.
He served South Africa with distinction before and after 1994. None could doubt his integrity, commitment or patriotism. The nation is indebted to this giant of the liberation struggle.
Robala ka kgotso ‘Terror’.
Issued by COSATU
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President Cyril Ramaphosa extends condolences on the passing of Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota
04 Mar 2026
President Cyril Ramaphosa learnt with profound sadness of the passing of Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota, former Premier of the Free State, Minister of Defence, and co-founder of the Congress of the People. Mr Lekota passed away at the age of 77 earlier today, Wednesday, 4 March 2026.
President Ramaphosa’s thoughts and prayers are with Mr Lekota’s family, the Congress of the People and his associates across the political spectrum.
“Terror” Lekota, as he was nicknamed, derived this name from his prowess in soccer, which formed part of his multifaceted life which he focused on politics and the development of the nation.
Born on 13 August 1948 in Kroonstad, Mr Lekota dedicated his youth and adult life to the struggle for liberation.
As a member of the South African Students’ Organisation and organiser for the organisation, he was prosecuted by the apartheid regime and imprisoned on Robben Island in 1974 where he spent eight years alongside struggle leadership including Nelson Mandela.
Upon his release in 1982, he returned to his life of activism and became a leading figure in the United Democratic Front.
The UDF was a non-racial, mass movement of more than 400 grassroots organisations that was established in 1983 to oppose the National Party government’s creation of the Tricameral Parliament, which purported to be racially inclusive.
Mr Lekota’s UDF involvement led to his conviction in 1988 in the four-year Delmas Treason Trial for treason, subversion and murder, as the state tried to link non-violent resistance by the UDF to violent uprisings in the Vaal.
While he was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, his conviction and those of other trialists were overturned in 1989.
Mr Lekota was a long-serving member and National Chairperson of the African National Congress, who in the democratic era became the first Premier of the Free State from 1994 to 1996, the inaugural Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 1997 to 1999, and Minister of Defence in 1999, a position he held until 2008.
This was also the year in which he became the Founding President of the Congress of the People.
President Ramaphosa said: “South Africa has lost a patriot, a freedom fighter, and a servant of the people whose life story is closely intertwined with our journey of struggle and the realisation of democracy.
“His life was one of resilience, courage, and steadfast belief in justice.
“We honour him especially for his principled dedication to non-racialism during our struggle and in a liberated South Africa.
“We deeply value his service to his home province where he served as Premier and to our Armed Forces and our national security, in his role as Minister of Defence.
“He was instrumental in the establishment of the National Council of Provinces which added a new dimension of democratic inclusion to our parliamentary system and ensured communities all over our country could be heard and represented in our national legislature.
“His establishment of the Congress of the People reflected his commitment to the values and principles by which he had lived, and it added to the diversity of choices presented to the electorate as our democracy matured.
“We
will remember Mosiuoa for his patriotism, his intellect, and his personable nature, and we will continue to work for the inclusive, non-racial South Africa for which he sacrificed so much and worked so passionately.”
Media enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya
Spokesperson to the President
E-mail: me...@presidency.gov.za
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SACP Statement of condolences to family of Mosiuoa "Terror" Lekota
Mbulelo Mandlana, Head of Media, Communications and Information, 4 March 2026
The South African Communist Party (SACP) conveys its message of condolences to the family of Mosiuoa Patrick Lekota, the founding member and president of the Congress of the People (COPE) political party.
The SACP also conveys its condolences to his party as well as the people of South Africa for the loss.
Affectionately known as "Terror" among his comrades, Lekota played an important role in the struggle against the apartheid system. His background in the Black Conscious Movement developed his political understanding of the inherent racist character of the apartheid system and thus understood the need for the people of South Africa to fight for a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic society.
He served as leader in the South African Students Organisation (SASO) while at university. With increased protests by SASO, the university expelled him in 1972, following which SASO named him its permanent organiser in 1974.
The apartheid regime arrested and imprisoned him in the notorious Robben Island where he joined senior leaders of the African National Congress and the SACP who were already serving long sentences for their crucial role in the liberation struggle. Lekota also played an important role in the United Democratic Front from 1983, following his release from Robben Island in 1982.
Following our 1994 democratic breakthrough, he went on to serve in various roles in government, including as premier of the Free State Province and Defence Minister.
The SACP acknowledges Lekota's significant role in the liberation struggle as well as contributing to the rebuilding of our country from 1994, and calls for the unity of the working class in deepening the National Democratic Revolution towards total social emancipation.
For its part, the SACP remains committed to building a popular left front to deepen the working-class struggle against capitalist oppression and laying the foundation for socialism.
Issued by the South African Communist Party Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
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COSATU Gauteng on the DA’s Billboard Attacking Premier Panyaza Lesufi
Louisah Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 04 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Gauteng notes the opportunistic billboard campaign by the Democratic Alliance (DA) mocking Premier Panyaza Lesufi over his remarks regarding the ongoing water crisis in the province.
COSATU believes that the DA’s actions are a cheap political stunt aimed at scoring points instead of contributing meaningful solutions to the water challenges confronting Gauteng residents.
Premier Lesufi’s comments where he indicated that he too experiences water shortages and at times had to shower elsewhere, were clearly intended to demonstrate that the crisis affects everyone, including public representatives. While we acknowledge that the manner in which the remarks were communicated may have caused frustration among residents who are enduring daily hardships, it is important to contextualise them.
The Premier did not seek to undermine the suffering of communities. On the contrary, he sought to show that the water crisis is not selective and that even those in leadership are not immune to the impact of failing infrastructure, ageing water systems, load reduction measures, and bulk supply constraints.
COSATU agrees that the remarks could have been expressed with greater sensitivity. However, we reject the DA’s attempt to distort the statement and weaponise it for political mileage. The people of Gauteng need practical interventions, infrastructure investment, and accountability not billboard politics.
The reality remains that working-class communities are hardest hit by water shortages.
COSATU calls on all spheres of government to accelerate urgent maintenance and upgrading of water infrastructure, transparent communication with communities during supply disruptions and protection of workers and residents from the economic burden of prolonged water cuts.
We further call on political parties to focus on solutions rather than publicity stunts. Gauteng’s residents deserve responsible leadership and collaborative efforts to resolve the water crisis.
COSATU remains committed to defending the interests of the working class and will continue engaging government to ensure that water as a basic human right is reliably delivered to all communities.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
International-Solidarity
World Federation of Democratic Youth calls for international solidarity with the people of Lebanon
4 March 2026
The Headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, taking into account the developments in the Middle East caused by the offensive of Imperialism and Zionism, hereby calls upon all WFDY organizations to develop solidarity actions, namely participation in this fundraising campaign, developed between WFDY and ULDY to try to spread on the social media to get the aimed amount for popular resistance.
In response to the aggression and escalating war in Lebanon, the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY) is mobilizing as part of a broader framework of popular resistance and community solidarity. We remain committed to standing with our people by delivering urgent humanitarian assistance to those most affected.
Our activation is rooted in organized, people-led action aimed at protecting lives, preserving dignity, and strengthening community resilience in the face of aggression.
1. Medical Assistance and Emergency Care
• Mobilizing and Equipping Ambulances:
We are deploying and equipping additional ambulances to provide emergency medical services to the wounded, despite the severe risks faced by paramedics and rescue teams.
• Emergency Response Teams:
We are forming rapid-response teams composed of trained volunteers and paramedics to assist in treating and evacuating injured individuals from high-risk and conflict-affected areas.
• Provision of Medical Supplies and Medications:
Our paramedic and pharmacist teams are distributing essential medical materials, first-aid supplies, and critical medications to displaced families.
Special attention is being given to individuals suffering from chronic illnesses, ensuring the provision of:
• Blood pressure medications
• Diabetes treatments (including insulin)
• Heart and cardiovascular medicines
• Asthma and respiratory treatments
• Essential long-term therapies
Ensuring continuity of care for chronically ill patients is a life-saving priority in displacement settings.
2. Support for Displaced Families
• Essential Supplies Distribution:
We are securing and distributing food, clothing, hygiene items, shelter materials, and medical supplies to thousands of displaced individuals and families.
• Temporary Shelter & Essential Services:
We are helping establish temporary shelters and ensuring access to basic services for families who have lost their homes.
3. Centralised Kitchen Initiative
As part of our community-based response, we are opening a centralised kitchen operating under strict hygiene standards to provide displaced families with clean, nutritious, hot meals daily. This initiative helps maintain food security while preserving dignity during displacement.
4. Psychosocial & Child Support Activities
With many public schools now serving as shelters for displaced families, our Pioneers and Scouts are organizing supportive and interactive activities for children.
Through games, creative workshops, and structured group engagement, we aim to:
• Reduce psychological stress and trauma
• Provide moral and emotional support
• Restore a sense of safety and normalcy
• Help children cope with the impact of displacement
These initiatives are an essential part of community resilience — protecting not only physical health, but also emotional well-being.
Funding Request
To sustain and expand this humanitarian activation, we are seeking to raise $20,000. These funds will directly support:
• Ambulance mobilization and emergency medical response
• Medical materials and chronic disease medications
• Food and essential goods distribution
• Shelter and basic services
• Centralised kitchen operations
• Psychosocial and child-support programs
Every contribution strengthens our capacity to provide life-saving assistance and immediate relief.
Call to Action
We call on comrades, friends, and supporters to stand with us in this urgent humanitarian struggle and effort
Your solidarity enables us to continue standing with our communities — saving lives, supporting displaced families, and reinforcing collective resilience during these extremely difficult times.
Through unity and organized action, we believe we can overcome these aggression and provide meaningful relief to those most affected.
We sincerely thank you for your commitment long live the international solidarity.
https://chuffed.org/project/wfdy-lebanon
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Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street, Braamfontein, 2017
P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct line: 010 219-1348