The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in Gauteng may dump its presidential candidate at the national congress door in favour of Zuko Godlimpi, a member of the ruling party’s national executive committee (NEC).
This is according to the league’s provincial leaders who spoke to Sunday World this week.
According to the leaders, the ANCYL “cannot just blue-tick” Godlimpi on the basis that he is a member of the governing party’s highest decision-making body between conferences.
Godlimpi is emerging as a divisive figure in the race to lead the once-militant wing of the oldest liberation party on the continent.
This after it was generally understood that he would turn down advances for him to run since he is firmly within the mother body, which also appointed him as deputy chairperson of its economic transformation committee.
But he has not declined calls for him to contest, creating a problem for obvious contenders including Gauteng’s Collen Malatji and Eastern Cape’s Aphiwe Mkhangelwa.
Said an ANCYL leader in Gauteng: “Our candidate for ANCYL president is Collen Malatji for now, but we may change our mind and throw our weight behind Zuko Godlimpi.
“This argument that comrade Godlimpi cannot run simply because he is a member of the mother body NEC is shallow politicking, we cannot blue-tick one of our own who is capable, as is the case with Godlimpi. It cannot be. The reality is that Godlimpi is one of the finest we have.”
Malatji was not available to comment on the latest developments, however, he told Sunday World last week that only he and Mkhangelwa were contesting for the young lions’ top job.
“You know with the national conference there will always be people testing the waters to push their agenda, but Aphiwe is the only person contesting me so far,” said Malatji.
“Zuko is the most powerful young person politically currently in the country because he is the deputy chairperson of the economic transformation committee and there is nothing bigger than that for any young person, and he is a strong youth voice there [who should not bother with ANCYL contests].”
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