
They believe the outcomes are not a reflection of the views of branches.
The ANCYL in the Mpumalanga province has come out gun blazing against what they term “abnormalities” in the outcomes of a recently held provincial list conference.
Held at the Mbombela stadium on 9 December 2018, the list conference was a process to select leaders who should go serve in the legislature and Parliament after next 2019’s general elections but is now being slammed for its exclusion of young people.
Provincial league spokesman Bheki Sithole said the exclusion of the youth in favour of “old retiring people” was as a consequence of “an abusive dominant faction in the PEC of the ANC in our province”.
“The ANC in Mpumalanga undermines the youth,” Sithole said.
“Young, competent and capable leaders were removed from the consolidated list and replaced with old retiring people,” he said.
This comes amid the NEC’s postponement – to next year – of the national list conference that was scheduled to take place on 21 December 2018.
The ANC leadership said the reason they have decided to postpone the conference is because of the rife allegations of manipulations in the provinces.
Sithole said the outcomes of the Mpumalanga list conference were not a true reflection of the BGMs.
He said the late ANC leader Oliver Tambo once warned that “a nation that does not care about its youth does not have a future and does not deserve one”.
“We however don’t believe that this undermining tendency is a product of ANC branches through their BGMs to nominate competent comrades to represent and implement progressive policies for a better life for all.
“To the contrary, the branches of the ANC have affirmed young leaders to take over the responsibility of being representatives of our people as a whole in legislatures, National Council of Provinces and National Assembly,” Sithole said.
He said as a league they were aware of certain individuals in the PEC of the ANC who “abused their positions to temper with the list that was duly a consequence of branch nominations”.
“It is a tendency that undermines not only the youth but the branches of the ANC as well. It’s a gross misconduct at worst, a tendency very foreign to the values of the National Liberation Movement,” he said.
The outcome saw Premier Refilwe Mtshweni bank the most votes, followed by Pat Ngomane at number 2 and Sasekani Manzini at 3.
Amongst those listed as young people in the top 30 is Manzini, Nompumelelo Hlophe, Gabisile Shabalala, Makhosazana Masilela, Bobo Mtshweni and defected BRA secretary Cleopas Maunye.
“We want to put it categorically clear that those who are referred to as youth in the results hold no membership of the ANCYL because of their age, therefore they do not represent us but themselves,” Sithole said.
“We want to urge the national leadership of the ANCYL as we go to the national list conference to rescue the will of Mpumalanga branches, intervene and correct this abusive abnormalities.
“We further warn the dominant faction in the PEC of the ANC to desist from their foreign tendencies, repent and allow corrective measures to be taken,” he said.
(edited by ZK)
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