DA vs COSATU cartoon

DA vs COSATU

Cosatu vs DA – Defending the Human Right to Throw Stones

Earlier this week, Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance and her trusty sidekick Lindiwe Mazibuko had to be rushed to safety after they found themselves and their fellow marchers on the receiving end of some well-aimed flying rocks. The DA marchers had intended to hand over a memorandum to COSATU asking it to drop its call against youth wage subsidies when they were mobbed by hundreds of COSATU supporters, many wielding red t-shirts, black berets and also lots of rocks.

Political analyst and unofficial COSATU publicist Unlucky Tshabalala was in tears during the violence-ridden march: “I cannot believe that COSATU had finally won the hearts of a few white people with their fight against e-tolls and now this had to happen – Why, WHY?!” She pleaded with Wonkie to present COSATU’s side of the story since it seemed obvious that the media, public sentiment and the law would turn against the labour federation following the unfortunate event.

In response to Unlucky’s plea, Wonkie decided to investigate the situation further. Following dozens of interviews with COSATU members, the reality of the situation and the true motivation behind the Battle of Braamfontein became more apparent.

“All we can do at COSATU is strike… and now they – the DA – even want to take that away from us – it’s just not fair,” said one distraught COSATU supporter as he wiped his rock against his black beret for good luck. “They [the DA] must find another way to protest, this way is already taken,” he continued as he flung his rock into the blue crowd and began toyi-toying.

Wonkie went on to interview some senior officials at COSATU and the response to someone wanting to hear their point of view was astonishing. Wonkie asked: “COSATU undertakes many protests and you wouldn’t like your opposition to throw stones at you, would you? Don’t you feel that this is a case of people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?”

“Eh, if we could afford glass houses you could have a point – but it’s ok for us to throw stones since we mostly live in brick and zinc ones. Besides, our violent reaction is a result of our history – you must never ever forget that…”

When asked to elaborate, another senior COSATU member replied: “Well, you see we were victims of apartheid – we had such poor education. We barely had enough lessons to spell badly on protest placards. Strikes is the only tool we have – and you know how they say, when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail… Now how would you feel if someone was using your hammer and pretending like it’s their own? You see my point?”

Wonkie went on to ask if there were no way the youth wage subsidy could benefit South Africa, given that the unemployment rate is currently spiralling out of control. “Well, to be honest, we don’t fully understand the youth wage subsidy concept or its economic impact – but because what is being proposed will largely affect black youth and it is being supported by the likes of the DA, we can safely assume it can only be evil,” replied another senior COSATU official.

Curious to uncover more of COSATU’s strategy to fight unemployment, Wonkie asked as much and received this reply from an enthusiastic supporter: “Ah well, we are going to be undertaking a series of strikes to cripple the country economically until more jobs are created – if they don’t create jobs, they must know there will be a serious price to pay!”

When asked who the they were in ‘if they don’t create jobs’, he shook his head in disbelief and replied bluntly: “Ag, don’t be stupid man – you know – THEY!” as he pointed to the somewhat battered and bloodied crowd of blue marchers.

Following the interviews with COSATU, Wonkie mentioned to Unlucky that the COSATU leadership will be formally charged with intimidation, inciting violence and holding an illegal gathering. She immediately burst into tears and wailed: “But Patrick Craven said that unionists had conducted themselves with “exemplary discipline and restraint”. I swear, this is pure victimisation.”

NB: For the purposes of clarity and for the sheer enjoyment of stating the obvious, all interviewees mentioned other than Patrick Craven are fictitious and are unofficial members of COSATU. The real members of COSATU, of course, have far more valid reasons for throwing stones at the DA.

Click HERE to leave YOUR COMMENT on the clash between DA and COSATU.
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Related articles on COSATU and the Economic Growth:

  1. COSATU news and cartoons
  2. Trade Unions and Economic Growth

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Comments

  1. The party’s really hotting up now. Hard to tell who’s siding with whom, but what is clear is that something’s got to give – or blow more likely. There is just far too much “bubbling under” fo all sorts of reasons. Everyone’s unhappy and the old addage of “follow the money” once again take onr straight to the heart of the problem – the useless, corrupt ANC government. Remember, if he is your enemy and he is my enemy – then we must be friends !

  2. notaround says

    *shakes my head in disbelief* “what next?”

  3. Graham Flax says

    These comments from COSATU are surely things you have made up yourselves – I can’t believe these came out of the mouths of real people

  4. @Graham Flax – from the title it’s hard to consider this as anything but a satirical article…! Although I imagine there will be some that actually believe a person such as Unlucky Tshabalala actually exists!

  5. I was wrong for Cosato not to take a memorandum cause Zilie is using our black brothers against us she divide and rule nexttime dont fight with them cause they are confuse they dont know those disadvantage of that document only Zilie and we fight one anothe see these other way around

  6. the blue and red faces speak louder than the sticks and stones-
    look at them – raw,naked hatred. Those pent-up emotions, like lava, are
    boiling under the thin veneer of our undemocratic democracy.
    Like powder kegs left long enough near a fire will blow.Watch it South Africa and smell the fynbos.

  7. LOL… funny article Wonkie! The whole conflict was a little stupid and one can only see a future in which Cosatu look like idiots if they DO try to justify their actions.

    What they did was wrong and illegal and there should be some serious consequences for the Cosatu leadership.

  8. Wonky`s comments are actually true although it was a Satirical article , BELIEVE it as the great Majority of Cosatu Elite and Members are Uneducated and with an intelligence of unbelievable LOW Levels. Listen to the Uttering`s of Julius Malema and you will understand. That guy Spouts diarrhea through his mouth and so does Cosatu. E`Tolls was the only thing Cosatu ever achieved since there existence and for that i Congratulate them for getting something right for the FIRST Time for the Country.

  9. nigel arensen says

    I feel so sad when I read about the violence that people like Malema & his his youthful cronies inflict wherever and whenever they appear. However, where there is smoke then there is fire. I do not know the details but I believe hatred and poverty are the mainstay of these folk!

  10. manthata says

    Vavi and Cosatu. This time they have made me think twice about my next vote, and I have just deregisterd from my union membership of cosatu.

  11. I do not believe that Vavi is really interested in who has a job and who has not. With all the millions they collect every month Cosatu could create many jobs. I am of the opinion that, like the government is using the ignorant poor, Vavi is using the gullible workers to further his own long term goal, which is to ultimately control everything in the country and be the ultimate dictator. He is a dangerous control freak. And the red-shirted masses are too dof to realise the damage they are doing to their own future by striking the country to a standstill. Workers, wake up!!

  12. It is very obvious that cosatu does not believe in the old adage that half a loaf is better than no bread at all. The fatcats dont give a toss for the jobless, hopeless, unemployed/unemployable youth, their bellies are full, and so is the Wabenzi’s fuel tank! “eff the rest!

  13. Juda Phali says

    This clearly shows how arrogant the ANC and it’s alliance can be. They are the only ones who are allowed to march wherever they wish. It still remains to be seen whether they’ll be charged for staging an illegal march. Zuma is even scared to openly condemn Cosatu and just plays diplomatic. How pathetic!!! It didn’t take 17 years for Zimbabwe to be a banana country it is today. We are heading there with unbelievable speed. God help us all.

  14. Cllr. DA Maphanga says

    Cosatu have proven beyond doubt that they opt for a Communistic job reservation style. They won’t accept new comers into the workplace especially the Youth. Whereas they should be negotiating better deals for the old workers and accomodate the Youth, their children and future leaders. How misguided Cosatu is.

  15. Cllr. DA Maphanga says

    SA needs a new non-aligned democratic union that will embrace SA economic growth and increase employment opportunities for all ages to replace the quasi political party, one sided workers’ union Cosatu

  16. I hope the situation won’t degenerate into another Sudan or Somalia where there is no rule of law. People should learn to accommodate each other’s views without resorting to violence.

  17. I think for cosatu to fight against da strikes instead of receiving da memorrandum is really irrisponsible. They got the taste of their evil medicine nd as for da leaders supposed not to escape when stones were flying high, but to stand their grounds. Now ordinary black citizens are made to fight against each other. If nd only if i was @ da marchers side, i was going to stone the da leaders by da tym dey wanted to escape unharmed whereas majority of blacks are injured.

    NO MAN HAS EVER SEEN GOD, BUT LOVING THY FELLOW HUMAN BEING IS TO LOVE THE ALMIGHTY GOD.

  18. COLLITJIES says

    COSATU = What exactly does one expect from a union who being uneducated morons only use violence or intimidation to their own satisfaction. As far as they are concerned no other political party or union should be allowed to exist. They are not interested in creating jobs for the poor masses as this would lead to educating them and exposing COSATU for what they really are, just a bunch of theiving morons.

  19. The question is,is COSATU a political party, i am sure not as they repsent working class,this means DA,IFP,ANC,PAC etc etc,so if they are not a political party they must get out from the alliance and at least when DA strike or IFP,PAC want to hand memorandum they will understand from which angle or corner otherwise they will themselves be CAPITALIST or MONOPOLIST because they will only think of the ALLIANCE and how to keep it,let them form LABOUR PARTY and definetely we will VOTE for them based on their POLICIES,as for now they are playing hide and seek.

  20. Cosatu are a bunch of Baboons (to use Malema’s words) the jobs subsidy will create more jobs than it loses and that is what we need right now. But to blame the DA for not creating jobs is ludicrous, they are not the government COSATU is.

  21. guinea fowl says

    COSATU bit more than it could shallow, it’s embarrasing tthe ANC and it’s an excellent way of boosting DA’s numbers…

  22. WOW! cosatu, talk about shooting yourselves in both feet!!! The people appear to be VERY disillusioned with you lot!

  23. DAnisa Alex Maphanga says

    Cosatu owes an apology to NEDLAC, the President of the RSA, the unemployed Youth and their parents, the union members whom they miss-represented, the DA and to the democratic Constitution of the RSA for their barbaric behaviour.

  24. As one afkaf remarked “this is what we will see, violence and stone throwing when the anc loose the election”

  25. When is this riot coming to Durban. I have a truckload of used half bricks I need to get rid of.

  26. I wonder whether cosatueven bother to monitor these replies to gauge the mood of the intelligent people, or whether they really coudn’t give a shit?
    Total arrogance!

  27. The comedy of errors continues – stone throwing is ‘traditional’. Corruption and poverty go hand in hand.

  28. It leaves me cold…

  29. Doneven Cloete says

    IF COSATU have a beter Proposel why dont thy bring it if not let them go sit back and relax,Let the DA go forward,if we can just look very close at cosatu
    and most of its officials they dont know how the Wage Subsidy is working,and any thing the DA put Forward is bad ,Now i am asking myself who is the RACIS .

  30. If the DA held a march against the youth subsidy COSATU would be for it. Wasn’t it their governing alliance that proposed it anyway and would implement it. Sometimes COSATU forgets they are part of the Government, the DA is not.

  31. Hi Wonkie, can you please open a cartoon for comment on the Durban taxi strike we got a lot to say on that.

    • Garth – sorry to miss the boat on the Durban taxi strike. Simply had to take readers on a tour of the Wonkie Art Gallery this week given the debacle around the Zuma Spear.

  32. what did cosato realy do to put e/toling on hold, a few marches???????

  33. a-maize-ingly-corny says

    This whole debacle smacks of the over-riding “thought process” in the ruling party and their “alliance” partners – “If we didn’t think of it first, it is against our policy.”
    Whilst the following article – an editorial from “The Times” (London) published in February of this year – is not directly relevant to this particular topic, it does have relevance to the whole situation in which we find ourselves at this time – a time when we should be co-operating to uplift our country for everyone’s benefit instead of “looking out for number one” which seems to be the guiding light of the “alliance” these days.

    INEPTOCRACY
    by David Hill
    SOUTH AFRICA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WHOSE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY FAVOURS A MAJORITY WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO HAVE COMPLETE POLITICAL CONTROL
    13 February2012
    © Times Newspapers Limited 2012 | Version 1.32.0.13 (49261)
    Registered in England No. 894646 Registered office:3 Thomas More Square, London, E98 1XY
    Much like inheriting a billion pounds only to die broke or forfeiting a three goal half time lead; ineptocracy is one’s failure to succeed from a position of strength.
    A political example of ineptocracy would be South Africa’s ruling party the ANC; who after 18 years of leading one of the most fertile and resource rich countries in the world hasn’t developed any sustainable solutions to generating wealth for its people beyond affirmative action, land redistribution and the nationalization of assets.
    After almost two decades of rule, the ANC’s sole solution to endowing its people is still to merely take wealth away from others. Surely this is their failure?
    Consider that South Africa is the only country in the world whose affirmative action policy favours a majority who also happens to have complete political control. In the rest of the world affirmative action is designed to favour the politically un-represented minority, not the politically strong majority.
    South Africa now appears to have a system of government whereby the ruling party is elected by the non- contributing majority, who in turn are then rewarded with subsidies, goods and services paid for from the earnings of the contributing minority.
    The flaw with this system is that nowhere does there exist a plan, nor an incentive, for this impoverished majority to actually start contributing to the economy and hence they continue to demand more from their elected leaders who in turn continue to deflect the wealth generation burden onto the contributing minority.
    Clearly this cycle of diminishing returns is not sustainable as eventually the expectation of the non-contributing majority will become too high and the burden on the contributing minority will become too great. In the end something has got to give as no economy can bear 20 million people supporting 50 million people.
    To further illustrate just how poorly the ANC has done at generating wealth solutions for its people over the past 18 years, consider Germany and Japan who at the end of World War II were completely decimated by the Allied bombings and were thus economically distraught. Neither had any industry, agriculture nor natural resources to generate wealth from, yet within 20 years both countries had uplifted themselves to being highly employed, economic powerhouses. Clearly both these governments achieved vastly more for their people with significantly less over a similar period of time and without disadvantaging any demographic.
    So the fact that after two decades of complete political control the ANC has failed to secure wealth generation systems for its people beyond affirmative action and nationalisation, well is that not the very definition of ineptocracy?

  34. I would like to add to maize’s blog, we are not only in an ineptocracy we are also in an idiocracy.

  35. Enough already, Wonkie. Let’s get on with Zuma’s Spear of the nation. Could be fun, the different takes by different people.

  36. Zuma could have a family crest (or is it a Zulu shield?) with the motto “Prorsus et sursum”. Forward and upward. Perhaps he should have it tattood on his ‘spear’.

  37. Sorry, misspelt my nom de plume. Scorpio, not Scopio. Too much coffee this time of the morning. Mind you, could get worse after tonight’s pub night. TGIF

  38. What is sauce for the goose is source for the proper gander in south africa

  39. Cosatu wont allow the youth into the workplace to learn a skill at a reduced salary rate in case they springbok over Cosatu’s members who are easily led by them and want work less for more moiney.

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