Johannesburg -
Organisational renewal of the African National Congress can only happen when the party had a new leadership, the ANC Youth League said on Monday.
“We understood the policy conference to have expressed itself on the need for the renewal of the organisation and the renewal of leadership,” ANCYL deputy president Ronald Lamola told reporters in Johannesburg.
“Such renewal will undoubtedly ensure that generational mix finds expression in the leadership outcomes, not only of Mangaung but all elective processes of the ANC.”
Lamola said this was a resolution made at the ANCYL's national executive committee meeting on August 17 and 18.
The ANCYL welcomed the ANC's policy discussion document on organisational renewal.
The document was discussed at the ANC policy conference in Midrand, Johannesburg, in June.
The policy documents would be adopted at the party's national elective conference in Mangaung in December.
The ANCYL wants President Jacob Zuma replaced by his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe, and wants former ANCYL president and Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula to take over the position of ANC secretary-general from Gwede Mantashe.
Lamola said that when the time came, the ANCYL would lobby for “decisive men and women” to rise to the challenges facing the organisation.
“We are convinced new leadership must take over the ANC.... All over the world younger leaders are taking over,” he said.
Lamola said all the ANCYL's structures had been called on to assess the ANC's leadership and to assess whether the resolutions made at the party's conference in Polokwane in 2007 were implemented.
He said the ANC's new leadership needed to take the party into the future.
ANCYL spokeswoman Khusela Sangoni-Khawe said it was expected that Motlanthe would take the position of president.
“It's no secret that the ANCYL says there must be a change... and it's expected that the deputy president will take the position.”
However, Sangoni-Khawe said the ANCYL respected the fact that nominations for leadership would open only in October.
The ANCYL's head of policy Abner Mosase said it was calling for “generational mix”.
He said this was part of the ANC's policy discussion document on a second transition for the party.
“We reaffirm that we are moving to a different phase,” said Mosase.
Lamola said the ANCYL would go to Mangaung in December with a single resolve, “election of men and women who do not sway to the tune of white monopoly capital, but are resolute, tried and tested leaders who understand that the struggle now is an economic one”. - Sapa