Political analyst Ongama Mtimka says the African National Congress (ANC) has not had an effective Youth League since Julius Malema was expelled from the party in 2012.
ANC top officials, including the party President Cyril Ramaphosa and Secretary-General Ace Magashule, met with the 34-member newly elected National Youth Task.
ANC top officials meet with newly elected National Youth Task Team:
The League was disbanded after the expulsion of Malema from the ANC along with other senior league members including Floyd Shivambu and Sindiso Magaqa.
Malema had been the League’s president.
The three were initially suspended. Shivambu for a comment he made about regime change in Botswana as well as insulting a journalist, Magaqa for undermining the authority of then Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba and Malema for comparing former President Jacob Zuma unfavourably to his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki.
Mtimka says the League has been dead since then.
“In fact, I think that it is the scheming of the old guard that resulted in a more preferred candidate who would have continued the path that they had started along with Julius Malema. Ronald Lamola was a natural choice but was obviously schemed out of it through the machinations of [former] president Zuma and company,” explains Mtimka.
Below is the full interview with Mtimka:
YCLSA pledges support
The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) has pledged its support for newly elected African National Congress (ANC) National Youth Task Team.
However, it cautions against factionalism filtering down from the mother body.
“We wish to have a Youth League that is led by its rightful owners because if one body part is limping or is having challenges it affects the entire youth progressive formations and in this case obviously we will play our support. We will work very close to the appointed leadership and indeed we just hope that they are not to allow to be drawn into the factional battles of the congress movement that we have already,” says YCLSA National Secretary, Tinyiko Ntini.
