Johannesburg - The campaign for North West MEC Collen Maine to become president of the ANC Youth League has thrown the race into overdrive, with only two weeks to go to the national conference.
With national executive committee member and former treasurer Pule Mabe dropping out of the race, it is understood Maine is making a spirited challenge for the position.
The MEC for local government and human settlements is seen by many in the structures of the league as being imposed by some ANC provincial chairmen, whose interest in the league race is linked to the broader leadership tussle in the ANC, whose next elections take place at the party’s 2017 national conference.
Maine was not mentioned as having leadership ambitions in the lead-up to the league’s national conference last year, which was changed at the last minute to a consultative conference.
Mabe has since turned 35, so he is no longer eligible to be a member of the youth league.
Former national task team co-ordinator Magasela Mzobe was also a candidate before last year’s conference, but appears to have fallen out of the race. Sources in the league and the national task team attribute the loss of support for Mzobe to his choosing his former president at Sasco, Mawethu Rune, as his candidate for general secretary, and to his attempts to use his role as co-ordinator to his advantage.
He had also long been accused of intimidating branches into supporting him for the presidency.
“Many saw this as a betrayal because the task team was supposed to save the league and put it back into shape after the (Julius) Malema debacle. Once you started having task team members having ambitions for leadership positions, it became a problem,” a national task team member said.
“(ANC secretary-general Gwede) Mantashe and (President Jacob) Zuma mentioned this at the conference last year, that task team members’ chasing leadership positions was problematic for the league.”
The changing dynamics have also seen Lesego Makhubela, outspoken leader of the Tshwane region, emerge as a dark horse.
Although more than 40 grievances have been registered by branches in Tshwane about how their general meetings are conducted in his region, Makhubela has significant support in Gauteng, which previously supported Mabe. His trump card appears to be that former youth league president Ronald Lamola is running as his deputy.
A lobbyist for Lamola told The Sunday Independent this week that he remained trusted in many provinces.
“Lamola has not changed his tune. He has stuck to the youth league policies of economic freedom.
“For him it’s not necessarily about the position for himself.”
The national task team said this week that the league was ready to hold its conference.
It seems unlikely that with only two weeks to go, it will also successfully hold its provincial general councils. This would lead to many of the candidates being nominated from the floor at the conference, scheduled to begin on September 8.
Sunday Independent