Durban - The government has denied that the National Youth Development Agency has been packed with members of the ANC Youth League.
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe told Parliament that the NYDA board was appointed by the national legislature and comprised people from various parties.
However, the EFF said almost all members of the NYDA board were either from the ANCYL or Young Communist League (YCL).
Radebe said this was untrue as, in the list of seven members of the NYDA board, one was from the IFP Youth Brigade and some were from other parties.
He said the NYDA was appointed last month with the full support of the National Assembly. “This February, Parliament overwhelmingly approved that the NYDA be recommended for appointment by the president,” said Radebe.
This followed a new process by Parliament to reappoint the board due to questions regarding the previous process.
Sej Motau of the DA said they did not support the process because they believed it was
“a complete farce”.
He said it was not a fair process and they would not support it, but Radebe replied: “According to the report adopted by this Parliament, I have no reason to believe the process was not fair. The issue of capability of the candidates was raised and their CVs were put on the parliamentary website.”
Floyd Shivambu of the EFF said six of the seven members of the NYDA board were either from the ANCYL or YCL, and he questioned their qualifications.
The NYDA was established in 2010 after a merger between the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission.
Opposition parties said they needed a more broadly representative NYDA.
The adoption of the report by Parliament last month left the process in the hands of President Jacob Zuma to endorse the appointment of the new board.
Zuma has to appoint the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the board.
Yershen Pillay of the YCL, who chaired the previous board, is one of the seven board members.
Pillay’s deputy in the previous board, Kenny Morolong, has been retained by Parliament to serve another term.