The newly elected ANC Youth League (ANCYL) provincial executive is pulling out all the stops to unify its delegates heading to next week’s national conference behind Mawethu Rune’s race to become the youth wing’s general secretary.
His name is the only one from the province touted to fill any of the league’s five top positions. There are three candidates vying for the presidency position left vacant when Julius Malema was expelled from the league a year ago.
The three candidates are Pule Mabe, Magasela Mzobe, who is the national task team (NTT) coordinator, as well as Malema’s former deputy, Ronald Lamola.
ANCYL provincial secretary Butsha Lali confirmed yesterday that delegates at last week’s elective provincial conference voted in favour of Mzobe as president and Rune as general secretary.
Rune is likely to be challenged by KwaZulu-Natal’s Mdumiseni Ntuli for the general secretary position.
Ntuli appears in the Mabe-led lineup, but Ntuli’s candidacy is questionable, as he turned 35 in March.
According to the league’s constitution, a person can be an ANCYL member only if they are aged between 14 and 35.
Lali said their main concern, as they headed for the conference, was unity. The province will be sending 565 delegates, the majority of whom are from O R Tambo which has 127 delegates.
Lali said the provincial executive committee was lobbying for support from the Free State, Northern Cape and the North West, with whom they shared common interests.
“We are interacting with these other provinces to finalise the top five positions as well as additional members for the NEC . “We are optimistic that our preferences won’t change as we engage other provinces,” said Lali, referring to divisions which rocked the Eastern Cape delegation ahead of the watershed 2010 ANCYL conference in Gallagher Estates which elected Malema as president for a second term.
At that conference, the Eastern Cape’s Andile Lungisa, a former deputy president of the ANCYL, was demoted to an additional member while Ayanda Matiti’s ambitions to become general secretary failed when KwaZulu-Natal’s Sandiso Magaqa won the position.
This was after Matiti’s rivals in regions such as OR Tambo campaigned against the position proposed by the Eastern Cape at the conference.
But it is likely that the province will fall into the same trap of internal divisions at next weekend’s conference to be held at the University of Johannesburg, as Lali’s supporters voted in the absence of another group which elected a parallel provincial leadership.
The NTT has since nullified the status of the faction led by Port Elizabeth-born Sicelo Mleve.
Lali said: “The PEC is working day and night to try to convince everyone from the province to go to the conference and speak with one voice.
“All we are trying to do is have all Eastern Cape delegates agreeing on the same names for the sake of unity. That is what we are striving for as this collective,” said Lali.
When contacted for comment, NTT organiser Rune confirmed that he had been nominated.
However, he refused to say whether he will stand, saying: “I’m expected to respond to such a call at the conference, as per the youth league tradition,” said Rune.
Mzobe could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
ANCYL’s bid to mend cracks
His name is the only one from the province touted to fill any of the league’s five top positions. There are three candidates vying for the presidency position left vacant when Julius Malema was expelled from the league a year ago.
The three candidates are Pule Mabe, Magasela Mzobe, who is the national task team (NTT) coordinator, as well as Malema’s former deputy, Ronald Lamola.
ANCYL provincial secretary Butsha Lali confirmed yesterday that delegates at last week’s elective provincial conference voted in favour of Mzobe as president and Rune as general secretary.
Rune is likely to be challenged by KwaZulu-Natal’s Mdumiseni Ntuli for the general secretary position.
Ntuli appears in the Mabe-led lineup, but Ntuli’s candidacy is questionable, as he turned 35 in March.
According to the league’s constitution, a person can be an ANCYL member only if they are aged between 14 and 35.
Lali said their main concern, as they headed for the conference, was unity. The province will be sending 565 delegates, the majority of whom are from O R Tambo which has 127 delegates.
Lali said the provincial executive committee was lobbying for support from the Free State, Northern Cape and the North West, with whom they shared common interests.
“We are interacting with these other provinces to finalise the top five positions as well as additional members for the NEC . “We are optimistic that our preferences won’t change as we engage other provinces,” said Lali, referring to divisions which rocked the Eastern Cape delegation ahead of the watershed 2010 ANCYL conference in Gallagher Estates which elected Malema as president for a second term.
At that conference, the Eastern Cape’s Andile Lungisa, a former deputy president of the ANCYL, was demoted to an additional member while Ayanda Matiti’s ambitions to become general secretary failed when KwaZulu-Natal’s Sandiso Magaqa won the position.
This was after Matiti’s rivals in regions such as OR Tambo campaigned against the position proposed by the Eastern Cape at the conference.
But it is likely that the province will fall into the same trap of internal divisions at next weekend’s conference to be held at the University of Johannesburg, as Lali’s supporters voted in the absence of another group which elected a parallel provincial leadership.
The NTT has since nullified the status of the faction led by Port Elizabeth-born Sicelo Mleve.
Lali said: “The PEC is working day and night to try to convince everyone from the province to go to the conference and speak with one voice.
“All we are trying to do is have all Eastern Cape delegates agreeing on the same names for the sake of unity. That is what we are striving for as this collective,” said Lali.
When contacted for comment, NTT organiser Rune confirmed that he had been nominated.
However, he refused to say whether he will stand, saying: “I’m expected to respond to such a call at the conference, as per the youth league tradition,” said Rune.
Mzobe could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
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