Phillip Vilakazi has been elected as the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at the union’s 18th National Congress held at Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.
Vilakazi, who has served as the deputy president of the union for over six years, was contesting the leadership position with former president Dan Balepile.
Balepile was elected during the 17th congress in 2022 and only served one term at the helm of the union.
Over 700 voting and non-voting NUM delegates gathered at a three-day congress that was touted to serve as a critical platform to debate the challenges confronting workers in the mining, construction, energy and metal sectors including the current political and economic landscape in the country has ended after the new leadership was announced.
The election management company, Institute of Election Management Services (IEMSA) Executive Chairman Terry Tselane announced the results shortly after counting of the votes at the congress on Thursday night.
Vilakazi garnered 411 votes, while the outgoing president Balepile, received 331 votes.
Olehile Kgwari was elected as the Deputy President after defeating his contender Rangers Molapo in a fiercely contested position by 383 votes to 357.
In another turn of events, the former Deputy General Secretary Mpho Phakedi has also ascended to the position of the General Secretary after he was elected unopposed.
Phakedi has been acting in the position following the suspension of the General Secretary William Mabapa last year in April.
Mabapa was suspended with pay by the union’s Nation Executive Committee on 26 July amid reports of an internal investigation into the alleged mismanagement of funds.
Other national office bearers are Phillip Mankge, Deputy General Secretary, while the only female leader Helen Diatile was re-elected the Treasurer General.
Delivering his closing remarks, Vilakazi called for unity and cooperation amongst all union leaders.
“The only thing that the NUM embraces is democracy.
In democracy people will prefer A while others embrace B, and those who emerged doesn’t mean they’re the owners of the union.
They remain leaders of the union including those who lost (the congress).
We insist that people who have preferences must understand that the congress is now over, we need to go back and give services to our members and start to close ranks because we only have congress once in every three years,” said Vilakazi.
In addition, Vilakazi said that the union will be firm in addressing challenges facing workers in various sectors where they’re organised.
“We will be specific in dealing with all four sectors where we operate, which is mining, energy, construction and metal.
This will only happen for the collective to ensure that in the resolution that we are going to refine in the short space of time we will talk to that, but in terms of the job bloodbath happening in this country we will not accept it as the newly elected leadership,” warned Vilakazi.
The alliance partners ANC, COSATU and SACP have called on NUM to reunite its members and rigorously rebuild itself to reclaim lost members who joined other unions.
