ANC orders Bheki Mtolo to apologise to Nehawu

By Zukile Majova
Political Editor

The ANC has decided that Bheki Mtolo, its KwaZulu-Natal leader, must apologise to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) after describing its members as “lazy”. 

Nehawu recruits workers in areas like Home Affairs, public hospitals, Higher Education, and the public sector. 

Mtolo had claimed that many South Africans had bad experiences at Home Affairs because of lazy Nehawu members.

When Nehawu complained about Mtolo’s remarks, he initially refused to apologise, leading the union to sue both Mtolo and the ANC for R2-million.

On Monday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula met with Nehawu’s top leaders, including the union’s president, Mike Shingange. 

Mbalula said: “The ANC has resolved that the KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo must issue an apology and retract the unfortunate remarks he made about Nehawu and its members. 

“Similarly, Nehawu will withdraw the court challenge against the ANC and the provincial secretary in this regard.”

Mtolo’s comments tested the relationship between the ANC in KZN and Nehawu, leading some union members to consider joining Jacob Zuma’s MK party.

Shingange said that Nehawu remains a political ally of the ANC but also said that the union cannot control which party its members should support during elections. 

He mentioned that while some Nehawu members have supported the IFP in the past, more recently, others have backed the DA. 

The union also expects that some of its members may join the MK party.

Pictured above: Bheki Mtolo. 

Source: X