BHEKI MBANJWA

The executive of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has turned up the heat on its provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, in a bid to force him to resign from his position in what could mark the start of a purge of influential allies of Julius Malema in the province.

The league wrote to the ANC’s national and provincial secretaries yesterday, urging the mother body to relieve Mtolo of his other position as deputy mayor of Kokstad Municipality.

Mtolo, the league’s KZN secretary, had been given an ultimatum by his league counterparts to either relinquish his position in the youth league or face removal as deputy mayor of Kokstad.

The league believed it was highly unlikely that Mtolo would choose the youth league job over his municipal council position, a source said, adding that the move was designed to remove him from the league.

Mtolo had a fallout with fellow ANCYL provincial executive council (PEC) members over his support for Malema.

The majority of PEC members are in support of Jacob Zuma serving a second term as ANC president, while Malema supporters want him replaced by his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.

The stance by KZN has angered Malema and the national leadership of the league, who are now expected to try to disband the provincial executive.

Mtolo’s term in the youth league ends in May next year, with no option for re-election because of his age. He is serving the first year in his five-year term as deputy mayor.

But yesterday Mtolo remained defiant, saying he would not pay any attention to the ultimatum as his counterparts in the provincial executive had no power to remove him from either of the two positions.

Remove

“I was deployed to my position in the youth league by the branches, and therefore you will need to hold a provincial general council (PGC) meeting to remove me.

“Regarding the position of being deputy mayor, only the ANC (mother body) can dictate to me because I was deployed there by the ANC and not by the youth league.

“The youth league does not contest elections, but it is the ANC that does.”

He shot down suggestions that he could not hold both positions as they were full-time positions.

“In the ANC, the secretaries of ANCYL provinces are regarded as regional secretaries because the youth league is a structure of the ANC. The ANC took a decision that regional secretaries – once deployed somewhere – would have to serve the remainder of their term in office but not avail themselves at the next conference.

“The ANC deployed me to the municipality fully aware of my position in the youth league. I plan to continue serving in both positions unless the ANC decides otherwise.”

He therefore viewed the ultimatum as undermining the ANC’s resolution.

But the league’s provincial chairman, Mthandeni Dlungwana, said what applied to the regions of the ANC did not necessarily apply to the provinces of the youth league.

“Of course we cannot just remove him from his position in the youth league because he was elected, but we have asked the ANC to relieve him of his other duties if he does not want to quit this one.”

Dlungwana confirmed that letters had been written to the provincial and national executives of the ANC regarding Mtolo.

Disbandment

National officials of the league were in Durban on Sunday where the matter of the province’s defiance was expected to be discussed. But the meeting was boycotted by the majority of PEC members.

“The national officials were joined by only five PEC members and the meeting could not happen because that was not even a quarter of the PEC.”

Siboniso Duma, the deputy provincial secretary of the league and a Zuma supporter, admitted that he and other members of the executive had not attended the meeting.

“We only know of a meeting that is to take place this Sunday, not that one.”

Regarding the disbandment, Duma said they were not worried about their positions. “After all, we are just volunteers of the ANC Youth League.”

But league spokesman Floyd Shivambu dismissed as unfounded the reports that the KZN executive would be disbanded.

“The comrades (Duma and Dlungwana) raise false alarms and create confusion amongst members of the ANCYL in KwaZulu Natal for purposes not known to the leadership collective,” he said.

bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za