Divisions in the ANC Youth League in the Eastern Cape were laid bare at the weekend when the disbanded provincial leaders called a special executive meeting.
This was despite the youth league’s national leadership giving the provincial task team (PTT) its terms of reference at the ruling party’s provincial headquarters, Calata House on Saturday.
The Nathi Nqoko-led leadership was disbanded earlier this month for allegedly failing to build the league’s structures in the province.
The Daily Dispatch previously reported that the now disbanded structure fell out of favour with its national leaders after it called for an early ANC elective conference to replace President Jacob Zuma.
The disbanded leadership has written to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, asking that the mother body intervene and reverse the decision to disband it.
ANCYL president Collen Maine had been expected to visit the province but did not pitch because of illness, PTT convener Mziwonke Ndabeni said.
Instead a ANC Youth League national executive committee (NEC) deployee to the Eastern Cape, Princess Faku, was sent in Maine’s place.
Faku said the PTT had been given 10 months to rebuild the once strong youth league in the province and prepare for an elective conference.
Asked about the planned PEC meeting that had been called by the disbanded structure for yesterday, Faku said only the PTT was recognised by the party.
The ANC in the province had also been notified that only the PTT was eligible to use its offices, she said, labelling the disbanded leadership ill-disciplined.
“There are disciplinary processes that will be followed if comrades don’t abide by the decisions of the ANC Youth League.
“Comrades must understand that in the ANC and ANC Youth League, the organisation comes first. As individuals, we must not attach ourselves to positions. We must be disciplined,” Faku said.
PTT coordinator Ntombikayise Mnyengeza said they were up to the task as mandated.
“There are no structures, there’s parallelism, there’s factionalism, there’s gate-keeping and there’s everything that seeks to destroy our organisation.
“We are willing to work with everybody in the province. In fact, we are even willing to work with them because we don’t have a choice – we have to build the organisation,” she said.
Ayongezwa Lungisa, the spokesman of the disbanded PEC, said they had to postpone their planned meeting to a yet to be confirmed date.
“We thought it would be good to postpone it until we’ve been given a date for the appeal,” he said.
Asked if the league was still relevant as some had argued it had been reduced to defending certain leaders in the ANC, Ndabeni said as long as the youth had challenges, the league would always be relevant. — mkhululim@dispatch.co.za
EC’s Youth League rift deepens
This was despite the youth league’s national leadership giving the provincial task team (PTT) its terms of reference at the ruling party’s provincial headquarters, Calata House on Saturday.
The Nathi Nqoko-led leadership was disbanded earlier this month for allegedly failing to build the league’s structures in the province.
The Daily Dispatch previously reported that the now disbanded structure fell out of favour with its national leaders after it called for an early ANC elective conference to replace President Jacob Zuma.
The disbanded leadership has written to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, asking that the mother body intervene and reverse the decision to disband it.
ANCYL president Collen Maine had been expected to visit the province but did not pitch because of illness, PTT convener Mziwonke Ndabeni said.
Instead a ANC Youth League national executive committee (NEC) deployee to the Eastern Cape, Princess Faku, was sent in Maine’s place.
Faku said the PTT had been given 10 months to rebuild the once strong youth league in the province and prepare for an elective conference.
Asked about the planned PEC meeting that had been called by the disbanded structure for yesterday, Faku said only the PTT was recognised by the party.
The ANC in the province had also been notified that only the PTT was eligible to use its offices, she said, labelling the disbanded leadership ill-disciplined.
“There are disciplinary processes that will be followed if comrades don’t abide by the decisions of the ANC Youth League.
“Comrades must understand that in the ANC and ANC Youth League, the organisation comes first. As individuals, we must not attach ourselves to positions. We must be disciplined,” Faku said.
PTT coordinator Ntombikayise Mnyengeza said they were up to the task as mandated.
“There are no structures, there’s parallelism, there’s factionalism, there’s gate-keeping and there’s everything that seeks to destroy our organisation.
“We are willing to work with everybody in the province. In fact, we are even willing to work with them because we don’t have a choice – we have to build the organisation,” she said.
Ayongezwa Lungisa, the spokesman of the disbanded PEC, said they had to postpone their planned meeting to a yet to be confirmed date.
“We thought it would be good to postpone it until we’ve been given a date for the appeal,” he said.
Asked if the league was still relevant as some had argued it had been reduced to defending certain leaders in the ANC, Ndabeni said as long as the youth had challenges, the league would always be relevant. — mkhululim@dispatch.co.za
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