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Cosatu has had a troubled relationship with the minister since his appointment after his department adopted an austerity budget, which seeks to cut the R160 billion public service wage bill over the next three years.
Cosatu President Zingiswa Losi is leading the march to the Treasury in Pretoria for the national strike on October 7, 2020. Image: Abigail Javier / EWN
PRETORIA – The president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Zingiswa Losi, on Wednesday asked Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to resign if he is “too tired to fulfill his mandate.”
Cosatu has had a troubled relationship with the minister since his appointment after his department adopted an austerity budget, which seeks to cut the public service wage bill of R160 billion over the next three years.
Losi was addressing workers outside the National Treasury offices in Pretoria during national protests on Wednesday against the continuing decline of South Africa’s economy.
The hundreds of workers who protested in front of the offices were upset by Mboweni’s absence when they delivered a memorandum of demands.
“Thina siyenza nje masi’funimali” sing the workers as they continue their way to the National Treasury in the country’s capital, Pretoria. :@ThetoThakane pic.twitter.com/48WkRajSPN
– EWN reporter (@ewnreporter) October 7, 2020
Losi said they were not surprised by Mboweni’s decision not to show up to receive worker complaints, given his stance towards the job since taking office.
He said he should step down so that others who are willing to protect the interests of South Africans can take the lead.
“The Treasury is part of the government. The money they administer and manage is money that workers contribute through their taxes. So we cannot have a minister who bows to pressure from the IMF and the World Bank and forgets what the government’s mandate is, ”Losi said.
The workers’ demands memorandum was received by the Minister of Labor and Employment, Thulas Nxesi, and the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula.
Nxesi defended Mboweni’s absence, saying he was busy with a presentation to the Lekgotla Cabinet.
LOOK: National strike: ‘United workers, they have nothing to lose except their chains’
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