ANC Youth League leader Collen Malatji slams Panyaza Lesufi's executive choices

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has launched a scathing attack on Gauteng finance and economic development MEC Lebogang Maile, calling him a “golden boy” guaranteed an executive position despite not pulling his weight during the election campaign.

Maile was earlier this month appointed by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.

He was one of seven ANC MPLs appointed to the executive while the other three posts went to other parties in the government of provincial unity (GPU).

Youth league ANCYL eader Collen Malatji told a gathering in Bekkersdal on the West Rand at the weekend that Maile and other ANC provincial executive committee members were not visible during the election campaign where the ANC was battered, but have now been rewarded with executive positions.

Maile is head of elections in Gauteng but Malatji seemed to suggest that only Lesufi was visible during the campaign.

Maile is the younger brother of businessman Mike Maile — Deputy President Paul Mashatile's longtime friend. Malatji and his fellow youth league leaders are allies of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

Mashatile and Mbalula are said to be eyeing the top position of president at the 2027 ANC national conference where President Cyril Ramaphosa will hand over the reins.

The ANC in Gauteng performed dismally in the May polls, dropping from more than 50% to 36%. To appoint its premier and form a government, the ANC had to enter into a GPU with multiple parties.

“Here in Gauteng we know there are golden boys who are not touched. We don’t know who they are representing because they don’t even have a constituency,” Malatji said.

“If you were to ask that person, who knows you here in Gauteng, they are unknown, but every deployment you know they will be appointed MECs.

“What type of a person is this that cannot be touched? We are saying they must be touched by comrade Panyaza. Anyone who wants to be an MEC in Gauteng must first fill a stadium. You can’t be an MEC without a constituency. The only thing they know is to smoke cigars and drink expensive whisky, they don’t do community work. That comes to an end.”

Malatji also took issue with Lesufi appointing four MECs from the Johannesburg region to the exclusion of the West Rand and Sedibeng as well as the youth league.

Before the elections, the youth league advocated for young people to be given senior positions in the executive and the legislatures.

“We are saying, we forgive Panyaza, maybe he made a mistake, he must correct that mistake. There is not only one region in Gauteng, called Johannesburg, that deploys four people while the West Rand does not have one representative [in the executive],” he said.

“West Rand and Sedibeng are being treated like stepchildren in the province, even the youth league, while there’s people we don’t know who they represent.”

In what can be seen as a direct attack on Maile, who was the head of elections, Malatji said there was no elections campaign in the province.

“There was no elections campaign in Gauteng, we could only see Panyaza doing up and down during the elections. The ANC in the province was nowhere during the elections campaign, they were sitting smoking cigars at the stadium [during rallies], they were sitting in the suites drinking champagne with their slay queens,” he said.

The ANC's Gauteng campaign brought out former party leaders including former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe and former provincial leader Tokyo Sexwale.

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