‘ANC Doesn't Need Another Malema’
August 21 2015 at 10:22am
By Baldwin Ndaba
INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Minister Fikile Mbalula, Minister Nathi Mthethwa and Former youth league member Noqawe mafu give details of their preparation of the ANCYL's national conference which has been postponed several times. Photo: Motshwari Mofokeng
Johannesburg - The ANC doesn’t want another Julius Malema to take over the leadership of its youth wing when the ANC Youth League holds its elective congress next month.
The party leaders, who were tasked to rebuild the ANCYL after it was disbanded three years ago, also hope that the delegates would reconsider electing a 35-year-old to take the helm of the league.
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, one of the task team members, made this bold statement on Thursday when responding to a media question about the preparations for the ANCYL’s national congress.
The eagerly awaited congress is scheduled to be held from September 4 to 6 at the Gallagher Convention Centre.
While Mthethwa made no mention of Malema in his address, he said the previous leadership of the youth league were “preoccupied with class materialism”.
“The previous leadership created an impression that the prerequisite to be a leader of the youth league was to wake up the next day and earn R20 000 and own farms. This is the rot we are going to cure,” Mthethwa said.
“They created a false notion that to be a young revolutionary was to be vulgar and make a lot of noise. This is the rot we are going to deal with,” he said.
Earlier, task team convener and Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula admitted in their statement that the disbandment of Malema’s leadership had caused chaos in the ANC’s youth activities.
“Needless to say, the unintended political consequences of disbanding the ANCYL created a gaping political vacuum in youth politics that has been particularly painful for the youth in general, who look up to the ANCYL for political leadership,” Mbalula added.
He warned that the ANC would at the congress be decisively launching “a sustained assault” on all types of “factionalism afflicting the ANC (and that) these ills were prohibitive and degenerative to the organic unity and sustenance of the movement”.
Mbalula said 3 000 delegates were set to attend the congress.
The task team had to field tough questions from the media, including about previous faction fights, mudslinging and allegations of senior ANC officials favouring certain people to take over from Malema.
It was clear that the ANC wants the new leadership to “reclaim the youth strata in institutions of learning, in workplaces, youth unemployment and cultivating intellectualism, among others”.
The task team also had to answer questions suggesting that some of the disgruntled youth league members were planning to put the congress on hold through the courts.
Mbalula warned: “We are aware of it. Those who take us to court are defining themselves outside the ANC.
“We are going to deal with them, including their supporters. We are going to deal with overzealous elements who think they can appeal through the media. The media cannot set an agenda for us.”
He added: “No court is going to tell us how to run our organisation. People must discuss disputes within the organisation… of course there is no total perfection, we are sometimes unable to resolve some issues, but we work on them.”
Mbalula said the youth league would have a successful congress and there “will be no nakedness there”.
Mthethwa and Mbalula said all nine provinces would announce their leadership choices next week after their provincial general council meetings.
While they reiterated that a youth league member should be between the ages of 14 and 35, Mbalula warned against electing a 35-year-old. Pule Mabe, former youth league treasurer under Malema, is aged 35 and is punted to be one of the candidates for the top post.
By Baldwin Ndaba
INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Minister Fikile Mbalula, Minister Nathi Mthethwa and Former youth league member Noqawe mafu give details of their preparation of the ANCYL's national conference which has been postponed several times. Photo: Motshwari Mofokeng
Johannesburg - The ANC doesn’t want another Julius Malema to take over the leadership of its youth wing when the ANC Youth League holds its elective congress next month.
The party leaders, who were tasked to rebuild the ANCYL after it was disbanded three years ago, also hope that the delegates would reconsider electing a 35-year-old to take the helm of the league.
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, one of the task team members, made this bold statement on Thursday when responding to a media question about the preparations for the ANCYL’s national congress.
The eagerly awaited congress is scheduled to be held from September 4 to 6 at the Gallagher Convention Centre.
While Mthethwa made no mention of Malema in his address, he said the previous leadership of the youth league were “preoccupied with class materialism”.
“The previous leadership created an impression that the prerequisite to be a leader of the youth league was to wake up the next day and earn R20 000 and own farms. This is the rot we are going to cure,” Mthethwa said.
“They created a false notion that to be a young revolutionary was to be vulgar and make a lot of noise. This is the rot we are going to deal with,” he said.
Earlier, task team convener and Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula admitted in their statement that the disbandment of Malema’s leadership had caused chaos in the ANC’s youth activities.
“Needless to say, the unintended political consequences of disbanding the ANCYL created a gaping political vacuum in youth politics that has been particularly painful for the youth in general, who look up to the ANCYL for political leadership,” Mbalula added.
He warned that the ANC would at the congress be decisively launching “a sustained assault” on all types of “factionalism afflicting the ANC (and that) these ills were prohibitive and degenerative to the organic unity and sustenance of the movement”.
Mbalula said 3 000 delegates were set to attend the congress.
The task team had to field tough questions from the media, including about previous faction fights, mudslinging and allegations of senior ANC officials favouring certain people to take over from Malema.
It was clear that the ANC wants the new leadership to “reclaim the youth strata in institutions of learning, in workplaces, youth unemployment and cultivating intellectualism, among others”.
The task team also had to answer questions suggesting that some of the disgruntled youth league members were planning to put the congress on hold through the courts.
Mbalula warned: “We are aware of it. Those who take us to court are defining themselves outside the ANC.
“We are going to deal with them, including their supporters. We are going to deal with overzealous elements who think they can appeal through the media. The media cannot set an agenda for us.”
He added: “No court is going to tell us how to run our organisation. People must discuss disputes within the organisation… of course there is no total perfection, we are sometimes unable to resolve some issues, but we work on them.”
Mbalula said the youth league would have a successful congress and there “will be no nakedness there”.
Mthethwa and Mbalula said all nine provinces would announce their leadership choices next week after their provincial general council meetings.
While they reiterated that a youth league member should be between the ages of 14 and 35, Mbalula warned against electing a 35-year-old. Pule Mabe, former youth league treasurer under Malema, is aged 35 and is punted to be one of the candidates for the top post.
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