The regional leader of the ANC youth league in the Gert Sibande region, Mpumalanga, is not a happy young man…
He wants senior leaders of the movement to lead the movement or else quit in order to give the youth the space to lead it.
In his welcome remarks at the Oliver Tambo memorial lecture delivered by State Security Minister David Mahlobo at the Ermelo community hall, Gert Sibande ANCYL chairman Trevor Nkosi said the league in the region was tired of “celebrity” leaders who went to media to raise internal issues.
He made an example with the party’s chief whip in parliament Jackson Mthembu. He said a statement made by Mthembu to City Press a week ago “tells us he says he has failed to lead the ANC”.
“There is now an NEC that has elected itself outside the NEC that was elected in Mangaung and that’s what creates divisions and is very wrong,” he said to a thunderous applause from regional youth league members.
“We are not going to keep quiet about that,” said Nkosi.
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“Comrade David Mahlobo you must now go back to the NEC and tell them that this thing of having ministers and deputy ministers who are celebrities it hurts the organisation because now they are no longer able to deliver services as they are busy with media. We are very much worried,” said the 31-year-old Nkosi, who is also the Gert Sibande’s district chief whip and the league’s provincial deputy chairman in the Mpumalanga province.
“Here in Mpumalanga 70% of the people are young people and if the ministers are busy on social media and media about their useless squabbles instead of leading us, let them go and we are very much ready as young people to fill these positions and deliver services,” Nkosi said, provoking further applause from the close to 4,500 young people who attended the Tambo memorial lecture at the hall.
The memorial lecture, delivered by Mahlobo, was attended by ANCYL deputy president Desmond Moela, youth league executive committee member Ndumiso Mokako, Gert Sibande regional secretary James Nkosi, other members of the regional executive committee in the region as well as branch members of the league.
(edited by ZK)
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