Uproar over ‘dodgy’ ANCYL conferences

An ANC supporter holds a flag of the ANC while the President Jacob Zuma addresses ANC Gauteng Cadre Assembly in Pretoria. Picture: Phill Magakoe

An ANC supporter holds a flag of the ANC while the President Jacob Zuma addresses ANC Gauteng Cadre Assembly in Pretoria. Picture: Phill Magakoe

Published Aug 5, 2014

Share

Johannesburg - The credibility of the upcoming national conference of the ANC Youth League is at stake after some of its North West members disputed the outcome of their “dodgy provincial conference”.

Several North West ANCYL branch leaders descended on the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters in Joburg on Monday, complaining about “bogus regional conferences held in their four regions and the provincial conference” held at the weekend in Rustenburg.

According to them, the provincial conference where North West MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements Collen Maine was elected chairman was not fully representative of all branch and regional leaders.

Members of the Ngaka Modiri Molema region complained that their regional conference was held for two hours and was presided by ANCYL national task team member Mawethu Rune.

They claimed that the meeting was held for just two hours because some of the people who attended, including Rune, were in a rush to watch the soccer derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Rune, according to the aggrieved members, is a staunch Pirates supporter.

“We were not invited, and annual general meetings in our branches were never held as required by the constitution of the youth league.

“We do not know where they got the delegates who attended the bogus regional conference on July 26,” one of the members said.

In another region of Kenneth Kaunda, which includes the areas of Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom and Stilfontein, there were complaints that their regional conference was attended by parallel structures of the youth league.

Some of the complainants claimed they were not invited to the regional conference held two weeks ago at Ngwenya Lodge in Stilfontein.

They accused one of the provincial task team members of having set up parallel branches in some of the wards to secure her position to the newly elected provincial body.

The raft of allegations were staunchly dismissed by the ANCYL national task team spokesman, Bandile Masuku, on Monday.

“The North West provincial conference was the official gathering of the ANCYL. It was presided over by national office-bearers,” he said.

Masuku said that at the conference, various people raised certain disputes, and all these complaints were seriously attended to by the national office.

“The disputes were raised but were not serious to halt a provincial conference. We listened to a lot of complaints and treated them with urgency. Some of these were serious and some of them were just manufactured,” Masuku said.

The Star

Related Topics: