Johannesburg - ANC Youth League national task team co-ordinator Nathi Mthethwa has called on league members to focus on building bigger and stronger structures.
Parallel with this, they should also focus on the league’s theme, “Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”.
“We have structures that are not strong on the ground, which have just made it to be structures and branches. For instance, (there are branches of) 102 to 130 members, which shows this is not the full strength of the organisation,” Mthethwa said.
“But we also have found a void in the political development of cadres of the organisation, so those things make people concentrate on (matters that are) not so important (as) the content of who they are.”
The league’s congress takes place next weekend.
Mthethwa said it was a “defining moment” for the youth league because no one had thought the leadership of the 70-year-old organisation would be disbanded by the ANC, as it did in 2013.
“The aim of this congress, having defined the mission of this organisation, is to fulfil the mission,” he said.
“(Members) have to extricate themselves from the mess that has characterised the youth league over the past few years.”
Mthethwa said the national task team’s major task was political work with the league and developing cadres through induction workshops and political schools.
He said the ANC wanted “radical ideas” from its youth wing that showed it had a firm grasp on the economic landscape and what had led to the huge job losses gripping the country.
“First, the youth league has a right to raise views. We’re saying in the document we should go beyond the rhetoric of nationalisation and understand the broader economic issues,” he said.
“What does the call of nationalisation mean today? Look broadly at the imperatives of the macro-economy, like economic growth – what is it that needs to be done to grow the economy?”
Mthethwa said anarchy would not be tolerated in the league.
“I’ve yet to meet somebody who would be sympathetic to anarchy. The youth league is where it is today because some of the ways (anarchy) was dealt with were inadequate and it festered,” he said.
“It can’t be allowed. I don’t think there has to be any shadow of doubt about where the organisation should stand. This should apply not only to the youth league but to the movement as a whole.
“There are procedures and sanctions should delegates to next weekend’s congress flout rules and engage in violent behaviour.”
Labour Bureau