DURBAN - Thanduxolo Sabelo, the ANC Youth League’s KwaZulu-Natal regional secretary, is the hot favourite to become league president when the national body holds its elective conference next year.
This follows a thumbs-up from the current president, Collen Maine.
Asked about Sabelo’s future, Maine told Independent Media at the ANC policy conference last week: “Thanduxolo has my blessing. He is fit to be the president of the ANCYL.”
Sabelo is popularly known as the “Lion of Umbumbulu”, his hometown, south of Durban.
Mandla Shange, ANCYL spokesperson, said yesterday that formal talks revolving around Maine’s successor had not yet been held.
“Only informal discussions have taken place, but no decisions have been made,” Shange said.
He said Maine and Sabelo worked closely together in the league.
The conference at which the 31-year-old Sabelo might be elected will be held in September 2018.
Maine became president of the league in September 2015.
Another ANCYL leader in eThekwini region, who declined to be named, said a lot could happen between now and September 2018, even though he backed Sabelo to get the top position. “It’s still a year and two months before we hold the conference. I don’t think we should be talking about 2018 now,” he said.
He admitted, however, that Sabelo had been getting strong support from the league’s branches.
Maine, who is already over the age of 34, cannot stand for a second term. The age limit for the league is 35.
Another ANCYL leader in eThekwini said talking about succession now would be premature. “A lot of things can change. People in the branches who are currently saying ‘we support Thanduxolo, and we will vote for him’ might no longer be leaders come 2018,” he said.
Another provincial leader said the KZN leadership supported Sabelo as the next president, but linking him to the ANCYL presidential succession now would open him to attacks from his adversaries.
“It is not something that we would like to share in public for now, because this would make him seem like an impatient person,” he said.
During Sabelo’s tenure as provincial secretary, the league in the province has been leading strong campaigns to defend President Jacob Zuma from political attacks. It is also backing former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s ANC presidential campaign.
Sihle Zikalala, the ANC provincial chairperson, and the party’s regional chairperson, Zandile Gumede, were elected to their respective positions through strong support from the league in the province.
The league also triumphed at the ANC’s national policy conference in the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, when its proposed policy issues - such as two deputy secretaries for the ANC - were endorsed for adoption when the ruling party holds its national conference in December.