
“If branches want him why not?”
ANCYL deputy president Desmond Moela has hinted that as the ANCYL they will support Premier David Mabuza for the ANC position of president.
Moela was addressing the league’s Radical Economic Transformation Assembly in Badplaas on Sunday afternoon and said they wanted to engage with the ANCWL on their preferred candidate.
The ANCWL wants ex-AU chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to emerge as the party’s first female president in December 2017 but Moela told the crowds at Badplaas’ Manzana cultural centre that they wanted to engage the ANCWL on that.
Without mentioning Dlamini-Zuma by name, Moela said: “You know what these other micky mouse parties do, they fill in young people in Parliament. Young people who are able to engage and you still want to put old people, people who can’t even do door-to-door, no comrades it can’t be. ANCWL come let’s engage. It can’t be correct. Let’s engage, because we believe there’s a room for engagement and if you feel strongly that you’re ready to take over South Africa and lead this country please come let’s engage and give us the best candidate that can lead this organisation, not someone that you see is old and even when that person walks you can see the time is over”.
Dlamini- Zuma turned 68 on 27 January 2017 while Mabuza will turn 57 on 25 August 2017.
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“As the ANCYL we have not yet pronounced ourselves and we will do that through proper channels and structures of our organisation and we’ll make sure that we put young people to lead the ANC and when we say we want young people we might not be referring to this generation but to people like comrade DD Mabuza because we believe they are still young and they can take the organisation forward,” Moela said to thunderous applause.
“I’ve never seen the best chairperson other than the chairperson of Mpumalanga,” he said, provoking further thunderous applause from the scores of youth league member.

Moela said the reason he said Mabuza was capable of taking the ANC forward was not because “I’m also from Mpumalanga”.
“No, is because I know the good work he has done in Mpumalanga, why not comrade DD becoming president?” Moela asked.
This can be interpreted to mean that the Premier League leader might emerge as President Jacob Zuma’s successor.
Moela also lauded Gert Sibande chairman Muzi Chirwa for “taking care of young people” and said he was unlike other leaders in other regions “who don’t care about young people” and said when the time comes they will remove them.
READ: Mpumalanga Premier DD Mabuza turns 56
He however didn’t say who those leaders were.
Moela said if the SACP wanted to divorce the ANC, “let them do it and leave us with our movement”.
He further welcomed the resignations of the three ANC MPs who resigned a week – Dipuo Peters, Mcebisi Jonas and Tina Joemat-Petterson – and said if there were still more others “we are waiting for them because as young people we need those seats”.
(edited by MLM)
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