Johannesburg – It was up to the members of the ANC Youth League to defend the African National Congress from those bent on destroying it, ANCYL national task team (NTT) convenor Fikile Mbalula said on Friday.
“Those forces have relentlessly waged a propaganda war against the ANC and it is up to the ANCYL to defend the revolution,” Mbalula told delegates at the organisation’s elective conference being held in Johannesburg.
The conference should address serious matters facing the ANC, including changing perceptions in the media, Mbalula charged.
“The national congress should seize these challenges, including how we can change the tide of the negative stories that are being told. It must discuss how we can seize the institutions of the media both in terms of ownership as well as the training of progressive journalists that have deeper appreciation of the revolutionary trajectory towards the national democratic society.”
Mbalula, the convenor of the NTT, delivered the organisation’s political overview.
He added that no one should be proud of the fact that the NTT had to convene the national conference.
“None of us should take pride in the abnormalities where the national conference is convened through the facilitation of a national task team appointed by the ANC. Flowing from this act where the ANC intervened, there was bound to be challenges, more especially on the autonomy of the ANCYL.”
The league’s last leadership, led by Julius Malema, was dissolved in 2013. Malema, who formed his own political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, was expelled from the African National Congress Youth League in 2012 for bringing the party into disrepute.
The ANCYL national task team was appointed by the ANC to rebuild the fractured youth organisation’s structures. Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa was the coordinator of the NTT while Mbalula was the convenor.
The run up to the presidential race for the league saw North West MEC of Human Settlements Collen Maine being nominated by most provinces. Former ANCYL treasurer Pule Mabe, Lesego Makhubela from the Tshwane region and former youth league deputy president Ronald Lamola are also presidential hopefuls.
At least 3 000 delegates had filled up Gallagher Estate’s hall two for the conference. KwaZulu-Natal has 800 delegates, surpassing all the other provinces in terms of numbers.
The conference reconvened behind closed doors to deal with credentials shortly after 3pm.
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