Taking COSATU Today Forward, 5 August 2026 #CosatuCongress2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #Cosatu launched 15th National Congress Countdown… #CosatuCongress2026 #WorkerControl #NationaActionAgainstCostOfLiving Campaign continues… #ClassWar #Cosatu40 #SACTU70 #ClassStruggle “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward
‘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
5 August 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU devastated by the passing of Comrade Jacques Cupido
- South Africa
- COSATU Gauteng welcomes School Safety Operations in Carletonville and Calls for a Comprehensive Response to Violence and Drug Abuse
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- New study: Nearly half the world's population live in countries which spend more on debt than health and education
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
COSATU devastated by the passing of Comrade Jacques Cupido
Nonzuzo Dlamini, COSATU Communication Officer, 04 August 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is heartbroken over the passing of a towering trade unionist, Comrade Jacques Cupido. He was an astute leader within the Federation, having dedicated his entire life to the core objectives of the working-class struggle under the stewardship of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU).
Unconditional surrender to a people-centered movement is a selfless act that Comrade Jacques adopted very early in his life. In the early nineties, he had already exhibited resistance to the practices of exploitative employers by joining the trade union movement.
His passion for people’s emancipation was second nature to him, a quality evident working as a Community Development Practitioner employed in the Department of Social Development.
Unapologetic in championing the rights of workers, he would inevitably serve in different ranks, from humble shopsteward beginnings to various provincial leadership roles. At the time of his passing, he was the Northern Cape Provincial Chairperson of NEHAWU.
Under his belt is an extensive list of positions he held in COSATU and NEHAWU in his province, advocating for the equal distribution of wealth and the eradication of poverty through his tireless work in the South African Communist Party and the African National Congress.
In 2015 he was elected as COSATU’s Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the Northern Cape where he served two terms.
Display of confidence in his work was proven again seven years later when he was elected in the position of Provincial Chairperson of COSATU, where he also served two terms.
A leader of his statue was deserving of the Bheki Mkhize Award for Long Service Award conferred by his union recently. His meritorious work was layered with a combustion of excellence, serving with admirable tenacity across different structures.
Comrade Jacques Cupido will be solely missed by his comrades, family and friends.
Lala ngoxolo qhawe lama qhawe!
Issued by COSATU
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU Gauteng Welcomes School Safety Operations in Carletonville and Calls for a Comprehensive Response to Violence and Drug Abuse
Louisah Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 04 August 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Gauteng welcomes the joint search and seizure operation conducted by the Gauteng Department of Education and the South African Police Service (SAPS) at schools in Carletonville.
This intervention is an important step towards protecting learners, educators and support staff from the growing threats of gangsterism, drug abuse, violence and other criminal activities that continue to affect our schools.
Schools must remain safe places where teaching and learning can take place without fear. No learner should have to worry about violence, intimidation or being exposed to drugs while pursuing an education. Likewise, educators and education workers deserve to work in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning.
COSATU supports lawful search and seizure operations aimed at removing dangerous weapons, illegal drugs and other prohibited items from school premises. These operations send a clear message that criminal elements will not be allowed to turn schools into recruitment grounds for gangs or centres of drug trafficking.
However, law enforcement alone will not solve the problem. Violence and substance abuse among young people are symptoms of broader social and economic challenges, including poverty, unemployment, family instability and the easy availability of drugs in many communities.
Government, parents, communities, religious organisations and civil society must work together to address these root causes.
The Federation calls on the Gauteng Department of Education to strengthen school safety programmes through increased security where necessary, improved fencing and access control, regular awareness campaigns on substance abuse and violence, and greater access to social workers, psychologists and counsellors to support vulnerable learners.
COSATU also urges SAPS to intensify operations against drug dealers and criminal syndicates operating near schools. Those who prey on children by selling drugs or recruiting them into gangs must face the full might of the law. Police visibility around schools, particularly during opening and closing times, should become a permanent feature in high-risk communities.
Parents and communities also have an important responsibility. They must remain actively involved in the lives of their children, support schools in promoting discipline, and report criminal activities that threaten the safety of learners and education workers.
Education remains one of the most powerful tools to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. Every learner has the constitutional right to learn in a safe, secure and supportive environment.
COSATU will continue to support initiatives that protect schools while advocating for long-term investments in education, youth development and safer communities.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
Internationalism-Solidarity
New study: Nearly half the world's population live in countries which spend more on debt than health and education
July 2026
Rising debt burdens across much of the world are forcing developing countries to cut back on education with alarming consequences, according to a new United Nations report.
The 2025 study by the UN Conference on Trade and Development found that over 3.4 billion people—nearly half the world's population—live in countries that spend more on debt repayment than public expenditures like health and education, putting the right to education
at risk for millions of children.
Speaking to Education International members at a Go Public event in Johannesburg this past week, EI President Mugwena Maluleke emphasized that this public funding crisis is not accidental; rather the result of political decisions:
"The question is not whether money for education and public services exists. The question is: what are governments choosing to fund? Acrossthe Global South, countries spend far more on debt repayments than on education. Money that should be building schools,
employing teachers and supporting learners is instead flowing to creditors. At the same time, billions of dollars leave our continent every year through illicit financial flows, tax avoidance and profit shifting."
A harmful double standard
The UN report document show the number of countries facing high debt levels has increased rapidly in recent years, from22 countries in 2011 to 59 in 2022. Much of this rise can be attributed to costs associated with theCovid-19 pandemic response. However, for
developing countries, this burdenis compounded by private creditors charging unnecessarily high interestrates, leading African countries to pay on average four times the borrowing cost compared to the United States, and eight times more than many European
countries.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke to the damaging effects of these disparities,noting the dire consequences they hold for the world economy:
"Because such a “crushing debt crisis” is concentrated mostly in poor developing countries, it is not judged to pose a systemic risk to the global financial system. This is a mirage. Across the world, rising debt burdens are keeping countries from investing
in sustainable development."
At the current moment, the International Monetary Fund categorises 36 countries on"so-called 'debt row'- either in, or at high risk of debt distress," Guterres went on to explain. An additional 16 countries are also paying unsustainable interest rates to creditors,
bringing the total to 52, or almost 40 percent of the developing world. As long as they are bound to these repayment obligations, none of these countries have the ability to properly invest in health, education, and other areas that are necessary to sustainable
development, the UN report contends.
Outdated financial systems in need of upgrading
This report is in line with a recent study by Education International and Action Aid which found that the International Monetary Fund continues to advise countries to prioritise debt repayments over funding public services.
This study revealed that, despite claiming to support better education outcomes, the IMF has not adjusted its country-level advice to reflect these new priorities, and fails to take each country's unique context into account. The UN report only strengthens
these claims, as its findings reflect the fact that global financial architecture has not moved beyond debt repayment as a primary goal.
To truly shift away from this outdated framework and towards a model that prioritises investment in public services, the global financial system must become more inclusive and development-oriented, the UN report contends. Developing countries must be invited
to participate in the governance of these institutions, to ensure that their interests are included, not just those of the Global North.
EI President Mugwena Maluleke echoed these recommendations:
"The IMF of today is still serving the interests of Global North governments, creditors and multinational companies. It is designed to enable their exploitation.It’s notable and outrageous that IMF austerity recommendations do not extend to rich countries."
A way forward
In addition togiving developing countries a greater voice within global financial institutions, better models of technical assistance must be adopted. One potential method involves debt-for-education (Debt4Ed) swaps, a tool which has been promoted by UNESCO.
In a Debt4Ed swap, a portion of a country's debt is cancelled if it agrees to invest the money saved into education. This allows a country's education sector to receive priority funds over the course of several years, and could prove especially critical to
the nations highlighted in the UN report.
However, as stressed by UNESCO, these swaps are not meant as a substitute for broader debt relief. The more structural factors behind the debt crisis, such as private creditors and colonial systems of extraction, must not be forgotten, as President Maluleke
emphasized:
"Let us reject the politics of scarcity. Let us expose the myth that there is no money. Let us challenge the priorities that fund weapons before schools, creditors before children, and tax breaks before teachers. We must continue building a movement powerful
enough to ensure that quality public education is not merely promised, but fully funded and realised for every child around the world."
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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