Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been criticised for "playing politics" with pupils’ lives after he heaped praise on the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), as he continued with his unofficial campaign for top office. Speaking in Durban at Sadtu’s KwaZulu-Natal conference on Sunday, Ramaphosa said Sadtu was a "great and powerful" union, which had organised up to 70% of workers in its sector. "Some people don’t like strong unions, but the ANC does," the deputy president said. "Sadtu occupies a special place in the struggle as it fought and won the battle for recognition of teacher unions in SA. There are some who look at Sadtu and say the union is too powerful, is a burden, and is not contributing to the transformation of the education system. Well … I know that Sadtu has been a partner in the transformation of our education system. This I know for a fact." Sadtu is a powerful affiliate of trade union federation Cosatu, which is backing Ramaphosa for the ANC preside...
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