The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) finds itself embroiled in controversy as its long-awaited congress faces accusations of predetermined outcomes and interference from the mother body.
As factions within the youth league vie for leadership positions, concerns over the credibility of the congress loom large.
Prominent ANCYL member, Sizophila Mkhize expressed her concerns about the lack of transparency and adherence to due process within Congress. Mkhize stressed the importance of following organizational protocols and ensuring a credible and fair congress.
She stated: “Just because we want the congress to sit, it does not mean we are going to sit aside and look at processes being broken, at structures being undermined, and at the interference of the ANC. It must be a credible congress.”
Mkhize also highlighted previous instances where the ANC interfered in the affairs of the ANCYL, referring to the turning of the 2015 ANCYL congress into a consultative conference at the hands of the mother body. She voiced her disappointment at the disbandment of the leadership of Sindiso Magaqa, suggesting it marked a turning point in the ANCYL’s relationship with the ANC.
“I think youth leaguers really lost the ball by allowing the ANC to disband that leadership of Sindiso Magaqa in the first place. I believe that is where everything really went wrong when young comrades who were participants and active leaders of regions and provinces let that particular leadership get disbanded because that is where our problems began when the ANC deeply put its nose in the ANCYL.
“We understand, of course, that we are not just a youth league, but we are a youth league of the ANC But also, the constitution of the ANC and the constitution of the ANC youth league speak about the autonomy of the ANC youth league, and I think we also dropped the ball when we allowed the ANC to disband the leadership of Sindiso Magaqa. We gave them a hallway, we actually gave them a red carpet and said this is your youth league; do as you please,” Mkhize said.
Mkhize was also running alongside Collen Malatji for the position of Presidency but recently withdrew her race.
Earlier in the year, Malatji disclosed to Sunday World that the ANC was trying to lobby Mkhize to withdraw her race and support him. On Friday, Malatji, delighted after he was pronounced the sole candidate for the position, stated that he had nothing to do with Mkhize’s withdrawal, notwithstanding the possibility of her emerging from the floor.
When questioned about her withdrawal, Mkhize said her dedication to the young people who had entrusted her with their support. She expressed her commitment to fulfilling the responsibility they had bestowed upon her and the need to prioritize the interests and convictions of the youth.
“I abandoned the race because I believe that young people from my province have been so loyal to myself and my convictions that they have sent me to lead the ANC at my tender age and it does not really happen that you get to be in such an important structure at such an age which I am at.
“So, I really think that I need to honour the young people to focus on the task that they gave me because young people have been saying that the ANC needs to get younger, and young people elected me to be among the 30 people that were elected to be in the PEC of KwaZulu natal and I was number nine. If I count people that were below number nine, it is actually people that have been in structures, it is people who are older than me. So, I can’t take that light and play with it. It is a responsibility that I need to take seriously and do exactly what young people sent me to the ANC to do. Also, not everything is about Sizophila, there are people who also believe in the convictions that I believe in that those are the people that I believe in in this particular congress, they are the people that I support in this congress,” she said.
Mkhize, when asked about accepting nominations rising from the floor, said, “We will cross that bridge when we get to it.”
The youth league’s congress holds the promise of redefining its future and rejuvenating the ANC’s youth wing. However, the outcome and the legitimacy of the congress will depend on how well the concerns of transparency, interference, and credibility are addressed in the days to come.
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