Premier Phumulo Masualle called on the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) not to fear but spearhead issues affecting the youth in the country.
He was delivering his message of support during the Youth Day celebrations organised by the ANCYL’s Dr WB Rubusana region in Buffalo City at Parkside Community Hall yesterday.
Masualle, who is also the provincial chairman of the ANC, reacted to pleas made by Luzuko Buku while delivering a message from the ANCYL provincial executive committee (PEC). Buku said at the moment, the ANCYL was not allowed to radically raise their voices within the ANC.
Masualle said the ANCYL should not be made a “dummy organisation but a very vibrant, fearful organisation of young people” that needed to be heard.
“It is your call, it is your time, it is a mission young people have in this day so that some years later when we talk about the youth today, we can say when our country was facing these problems, the young people of your country rose.”
Masualle said there were serious challenges the ANCYL needed to confront.
It included young girls being infected with HIV/Aids by older men and a high drop-out rate at schooling and tertiary levels of education.
He said young people need to provide momentum on a mission taken by the ANC during the 53rd national conference to resolve inequality, unemployment and poverty.
“We need a much more mobile movement of young people to encourage the older people like myself.
“We tend to find comfort where we are but it should be that young people are able to infuse that energy and bravery that we confront the obstacles before us.
“All of us want a brighter future, a brighter tomorrow.”
Buku said young people reasserted themselves during the #FeesMustFall movement. He spoke of arrogance within the movement and deployed persons acting as individuals and not as a party, becoming defensive when issues are raised.
“It is our pleas that as we move from here, we uproot this level of arrogance. We don’t want to talk about the lists as we do have complaints of not being listened to by our movement.”
Buku said the ANCYL wanted 40% representation of the youth in the ANC and government, but only 20% has been granted.
He described the opposition in the country as being “very youthful” while the ANC leadership “are ageing, albeit gracefully”.
“That means that the opposition is accumulating a lot of experience in oversight in governance whereas our main activity or responsibility afforded to the youth league is to be paratroopers of factional interests.
“Most of the time, comrades, we are usually recruited into the movement through factionalism. It’s a plea. Can we be allowed to express ourselves radically as required?
“The reality is young people across East London are poor. When talking about houses we are not mentioned but most of us qualify for those houses and in many other opportunities we are relegated to the fringes within government work and within.”
Buku called on the ANCYL to be allowed to continue expressing the interests of young people.
“We want to be free within the ANC so we can lead the struggle of freedom in society.” — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
ANCYL must not be ‘dummy organisation’
He was delivering his message of support during the Youth Day celebrations organised by the ANCYL’s Dr WB Rubusana region in Buffalo City at Parkside Community Hall yesterday.
Masualle, who is also the provincial chairman of the ANC, reacted to pleas made by Luzuko Buku while delivering a message from the ANCYL provincial executive committee (PEC). Buku said at the moment, the ANCYL was not allowed to radically raise their voices within the ANC.
Masualle said the ANCYL should not be made a “dummy organisation but a very vibrant, fearful organisation of young people” that needed to be heard.
“It is your call, it is your time, it is a mission young people have in this day so that some years later when we talk about the youth today, we can say when our country was facing these problems, the young people of your country rose.”
Masualle said there were serious challenges the ANCYL needed to confront.
It included young girls being infected with HIV/Aids by older men and a high drop-out rate at schooling and tertiary levels of education.
He said young people need to provide momentum on a mission taken by the ANC during the 53rd national conference to resolve inequality, unemployment and poverty.
“We need a much more mobile movement of young people to encourage the older people like myself.
“We tend to find comfort where we are but it should be that young people are able to infuse that energy and bravery that we confront the obstacles before us.
“All of us want a brighter future, a brighter tomorrow.”
Buku said young people reasserted themselves during the #FeesMustFall movement. He spoke of arrogance within the movement and deployed persons acting as individuals and not as a party, becoming defensive when issues are raised.
“It is our pleas that as we move from here, we uproot this level of arrogance. We don’t want to talk about the lists as we do have complaints of not being listened to by our movement.”
Buku said the ANCYL wanted 40% representation of the youth in the ANC and government, but only 20% has been granted.
He described the opposition in the country as being “very youthful” while the ANC leadership “are ageing, albeit gracefully”.
“That means that the opposition is accumulating a lot of experience in oversight in governance whereas our main activity or responsibility afforded to the youth league is to be paratroopers of factional interests.
“Most of the time, comrades, we are usually recruited into the movement through factionalism. It’s a plea. Can we be allowed to express ourselves radically as required?
“The reality is young people across East London are poor. When talking about houses we are not mentioned but most of us qualify for those houses and in many other opportunities we are relegated to the fringes within government work and within.”
Buku called on the ANCYL to be allowed to continue expressing the interests of young people.
“We want to be free within the ANC so we can lead the struggle of freedom in society.” — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
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