Johannesburg - A cacophony of boos, heckling and howling echoed through the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus on Wednesday as rival ANC Youth League (ANCYL) factions squared off during the organisation’s consultative conference.
The conference got off to a chaotic start, with some delegates repeatedly disrupting proceedings by heckling the guest speakers and chanting the name of the league’s former treasurer-general, Pule Mabe.
The rowdy delegates – mostly from Gauteng, and Ekurhuleni in particular – were robust in demonstrating their unhappiness with the ANC’s decision to collapse the elective national conference into a consultative congress.
Monday’s decision to defer the elective conference to next year effectively ruled Mabe out of the presidential race, as he would be over the prescribed ANCYL age limit of 35 by the time the conference is held. Mabe turns 35 in February and the conference is unlikely to be held before then.
The throng of Ekurhuleni delegates pitched up at the congress 30 minutes after proceedings had started, sporting Palestinian-style white and black scarves.
“We will collapse this thing!” chanted the aggrieved delegates as they protested against the decision to convert the elective conference into a consultative forum to deliberate on policy matters and rebuild the floundering league.
Each chant of “Amandla” was matched by “Pule! Pule! Pule” chants.
Guest speakers, including the ANCYL’s disbanded national task team convener Mzwandile Masina and MK Military Veterans Association Kebby Maphatsoe, appealed for calm and “high discipline”, but their pleas were summarily shot down with chants of “sellouts! And “you are lying!”
Even former ANCYL president and Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba and Young Communist League secretary Buti Manamela were not spared the wrath of the disgruntled delegates. They were booed when they called on delegates to respect the ANC’s decision to change the elective conference into a consultative congress.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe was booed when his name was mentioned during the introductions.
“We are here to elect,” rang a voice from the throngs of delegates.
As tempers continued to flare, Mabe stood up from the podium and walked up to the centre row in a bid to calm down the delegates. But this only seemed to spur the angry delegates into action.
Only former ANCYL president and Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was received with relative affection by all factions of the crowd.
He sought to talk sense into the rowdy delegates.
“We are here to educate you about discipline. As the ANC, we will never negotiate with anarchy. The days when we were in Mangaung, batho ba tsamaya ka maponapona (loosely translated as walking around naked) are over,” Mbalula thundered to rapturous applause, in an apparent reference to the 2011 elective conference in Mangaung, where the league’s erstwhile president Julius Malema was elected.
“Nobody is above the ANC. You must know, we will never allow anarchy. We must confront anarchy. This conference will continue according to what the ANC wants,” he added.
Most of the chants of malcontents inside the hall came from the centre row, which was occupied by Gauteng delegates, with those from Ekurhuleni the most vociferous in their disapproval of the ANC’s decision.
The chaotic scenes replicated the disorderliness that preceded the national conference, when ANCYL members in some provinces engaged in brawls because of disputes over branch membership audits and allegations of “ghost membership” and vote-rigging.
The consultative conference itself seemed chaotic, with proceedings starting at 3pm. President Jacob Zuma was scheduled to open the conference with a keynote address at 3pm but he arrived shortly before 6pm.
Earlier, groups of delegates – especially from the Eastern Cape – sang songs demonstrating their unhappiness with the consultative congress.
The Star