by 013NEWS Reporter | Oct 26, 2018 | Politics
The league will have a provincial elective conference on 7 December 2018.
Mpumalanga ANCYL deputy chairman Trevor Nkosi says he personally feels he must give others the chance to lead the ANCYL.
Nkosi says the reason he is available for the position of league provincial chairman ahead of congress is because he respects the comrades who have requested him to stand “but personally I have never stood up and say I want to lead the ANCYL”.
Nkosi spoke to the 013NEWS reporter Friday afternoon this week after it had come to light that he is actually turning 36 next year April.
He was born on 27 April 1983 and the age limit for being a member of the ANCYL is 35 years.
“I have raised the issue of my age to comrades but you know comrades they always have something they put forward to justify their views,” the affable Nkosi said over the phone.
“I have said that I’m 35 years-old already and I think now I’m ready to contest the space in the ANC,” he said.
He said personally he feels the ANCYL should be led by people between the age of 20 and 30 and afterwards “give those who are following you the chance”.
Nkosi said when he told comrades about his age “they started saying, ‘No, we have confidence in you. We want you to lead us, you have the capacity to change the political landscape in the province for young people”.
He is endorsed by his home region of Gert Sibande as well as other comrades in Bohlabela and Nkangala.
ALSO RELATED: Violent collapse of Nkangala ANCYL PGC result of contest between Ndumiso Mokako, Pholoso Mbatsane – Trevor vs Thabang
In mid-2017, Nkosi, who had previously served as regional secretary and chairman of the league in Gert Sibande before being elevated to the position of deputy provincial chair in 2016, was elected as the regional executive committee member of the Gert Sibande ANC.
Also Mduduzi “Mswati” Nkosi, former leader of the Nkangala ANCYL, got elected to the Nkangala ANC REC as was outgoing league provincial leader Tim Mashele for the Bohlabela ANC REC in June 2017.
Nkosi, who is also the chief whip of the Gert Sibande district municipality, said comrades began pointing out the age of current national leader Collen Maine who is apparently 38 years and former leader Fikile Mbalula, who left the league in 2007 at 38, to say he must accept leading the league.
He said it is because he respects them that he is available “but personally as Trevor Nkosi I’m no longer there”.
“I feel other young people should be given the opportunity to lead the league. Our space is now in the ANC,” Nkosi said.
ALSO RELATED: Thabang Mathebula not aware why he’s suspended
(edited by MLM)
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by 013NEWS Reporter | Oct 25, 2018 | Politics
He is yet to be charged and the league says they won’t say what charge he will face until a disciplinary committee has done its work.
Nkangala ANCYL secretary Thabang Mathebula has spoken up about his suspension, saying he was still “shocked” as to what he did.
News of the soft-spoken regional youth leader were brought to light by provincial secretary Pholoso Mbatsane this week, confirming they have decided to send Mathebula home pending a disciplinary hearing.
Mbatsane didn’t say why they have decided to suspend the regional secretary but said the suspension comes after they “noted with deep regret” his “recent conduct”.
“We have deliberated on the matter and decided to suspend Comrade Thabang Mathebula pending his disciplinary hearing,” Mbatsane said in a statement.
Mathebula said he saw the press statement that Mbatsane released on behalf of the provincial executive committee and was “shocked, what is it that I did”?
“Currently as I’m sitting here I’m not sure what is it that I did,” he told the 013NEWS reporter over the phone.
“I don’t even know of a suspension because from where I’m sitting now I haven’t received anything that seeks to say ‘Comrade Thabang you are suspended or here’s an intent to suspend you’. No. I’m still waiting for anybody to come to me and say ‘you are suspended and this is what you have done’,” he said Thursday morning.
He said it was “unorganisational” of the PEC to suspend him through a press statement and “[that] is not how we process issues in the organisation”.
“So I’m not sure whether the person who wrote the press statement felt he had to put my name in it or is that of somebody else. I don’t know. But what I can say is that I have had an regional executive committee meeting and the convener of the region from the province was here and I can confirm that there is no message of that nature that was communicated,” he said.
In the press statement, Mbatsane said that a disciplinary hearing is meant to restore order and “not meant to resolve private problems”.
“The PEC wants to put it on record that and in a clearer context that disciplinary procedures are not meant to resolve private problems, intimidate or silence a particular member. The whole purpose of DC processes is restore order and discipline within the organisation,” he said.
Mathebula wants to be the provincial chair of the ANCYL when a congress is held on 7 December 2018. He will face-off with Trevor Nkosi, the provincial deputy chair who is also gunning for the same seat.
READ: Thabang Mathebula wants to meet Trevor Nkosi, discuss what is best for ANCYL
Provincial spokesman Bheki Sithole said they will not reveal what Mathebula did because he still has to appear before a disciplinary committee.
“He is suspended. The disciplinary committee will summon him. But for now we are not gonna be able to publish the detailed charge sheet, I can only confirm that he is suspended,” Sithole said, adding the matter is “sub-judice”.
” He is yet to receive his charge sheet from the disciplinary committee and the date of appearance. After everything has been done we will then make it public. We will come back and say ‘this is what he is charged for’,” said Sithole.
(edited by ZK)
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by 013NEWS Reporter | Sep 12, 2018 | Politics
They also mention YCL provincial spokesman Lucky Zitha as their preferred man for the position of provincial deputy chair.
Bohlabela ANCYL members belonging to a faction that wrote to national secretary Njabulo Nzuza complaining about a May 2018 regional elective congress being marred by unfairness are currently infiltrating the ground to garner enough support for league provincial spokesman Bheki Sithole to become the provincial secretary when a congress is held soon.
Led by Bushbuckridge subregion ward 10 chairman Kabelo Ndziyo, the members said they are on a mission to seek a new leadership in the province that will “revive” the ANCYL from its “grave”. The group believes Ndumiso Mokako is the right leader for the position of President, Trevor Nkosi for the position of Mpumalanga league chairperson and Sithole as secretary.
They also want Lucky Zitha, the YCL provincial spokesman, to become the deputy chairman.
But this is setting them against the leadership that won the May congress which wants provincial secretary Pholoso Mbatsane to retain his post.
The group stood up and left the May 2018 Bohlabela ANCYL elective conference in exodus soon after credentials were adopted, complaining that NEC deployee deputy president Desmond Moela was conducting the conference unfairly and they no longer wanted to participate.
The Bohlabela conference hall after the other faction had allegedly staged an exodus, crying unfairness.
They later wrote a letter to Nzuza complaining of the way the conference was conducted and the “bogus delegates” that were allegedly added to defeat them.
“We want Trevor as chair, Lucky Zitha as deputy chair, Bheki Sithole as secretary, Musa Nkuna as deputy secretary and Sthembile Mhlongo as treasurer,” Ndziyo told the 013NEWS reporter this week Wednesday.
He said nationally they will prefer Mokako and KZN secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo as secretary general and that they had the number of branches to ensure this happens.
“We don’t want Pholoso Mbatsane because he is part of the group that was conducting the conference unfairly and robbing us in order to get the people they want to remote-control to emerge.
“Both Tim Mashele and Mbatsane failed the ANCYL, we don’t want them. Since they got elected in 2015 they never had programs,” he said.
“Trevor is better because we saw what he did in Gert Sibande in terms of programs and is someone who is not arrogant and is able to deal with people peacefully and that’s why we want him and Sithole,” Ndziyo said.
Lucky Zitha.
The Ndziyo group had wanted former acting regional secretary Nhlamulo Mayindi to become the secretary as well as Musa Nkuna to become the chair but lost to Precious Tonga who got elected the chairwoman as well as Mourice Khoza who became the secretary on the day they chose to leave.
ALSO RELATED: ANCYL condemns Nkangala RGC “thuggery” behaviour
They claim the current leadership of Tonga and Khoza is an “imposed structure” and is scared of calling a Regional General Council to finish the business of the May 2018 congress “because they know they don’t have the branches” and were elected by “bogus delegates”.
They also accuse them of being “remote-controlled” by ANC provincial spokeswoman Sasekani Manzini and “cannot do anything without her permission”.
“Precious even worked in Sasekani’s office and each and every program they want to have they ask Sasekani first and if she says no they won’t do it,” Ndziyo said.
Manzini, who is also health MEC, is from the Bohlabela region and previously served as the ANCYL provincial secretary.
“That structure we don’t recognise it. It is a structure of Sasekani and Desmond,” he said, adding that the reason the structure was “imposed” it was for the sole reason of using it to pronounce league provincial leader Tim Mashele as the regional secretary of the ANC in the Bohlabela region in the near future.
Sasekani Manzini (L), Tim Mashele (C) and Desmond Moela (R). 013NEWS/ZK.
Ndziyo said the current leadership has few branches, “very few” and that of the 123 delegates that attended the May 2018 congress a number of 74 delegates were “on our side and that is the reason they had to get bogus delegates to add to their numbers,” he said.
Manzini told the 013NEWS reporter that she refuses to be dragged into ANCYL squabbles as she is no longer an ANCYL member.
She said she only attended the May 2018 conference as an invited guest and is having nothing to do with the other claims.
Moela promised he would respond to media enquiries but never did.
Regional secretary Mourice Khoza rejected the claims, saying the Ndziyo group will always say but can never give names of the people they claim were bogus delegates.
Bohlabela ANCYL chairwoman Precious Tonga.
“Everything in that congress was fair. I was contesting against the former Regional Task Team member comrade Nhlamulo Mayindi and delegates from branches rejected him,” Khoza said.
“We were not imposed at all but elected by branch delegates of Bohlabela region,” he said, “and I think it’s about time they must provide names of the so-called bogus delegates and the names of delegates they say left congress, they can’t provide that information because there is no such,” Khoza said.
ALSO RELATED: Nkangala RGC violence are a result of contest between Ndumiso Mokako and Pholoso Mbatsane – Trevor vs Thabang
Khoza said as far he knows the few BGMs that had taken place had nominated Mbatsane to retain the post of secretary.
“We are busy with BGMs and few branches which went to their respective BGMs in the region want Lucky Zitha to be deputy chairperson and Pholoso Mbatsane to retain his position as secretary of the province.
“We will support anyone for chairperson and we are waiting for the other regions to lobby us as a region. I heard that there is a name of Thabang Mathebula and Trevor Nkosi. Both are capable to lead the province,” the secretary said.
Provincial spokesman Bheki Sithole said it was good that branches were conducting BGMs to choose preferred candidates and were exercising their constitutional rights in that manner.
He said any member of the ANCYL in good standing had a right to elect or get elected, adding that he will only stand “only if I’m approached by branches, not just a person standing there calling my name. No”.
He said it was the branches that have the right to choose who must lead the province and “not the province”.
“If branches sit and put people’s names forward, people they believe should lead the province they are practising their constitutional mandate and is a mandate that no one should take away from the branches. It must be a bottom up approach and not the other way around,” Sithole said.
(edited by ZK)
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