Durban - The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA), one of the fiercest critics of President Jacob Zuma, has called on him to talk about how the ANC will deal with “unfair” cadre deployment when he delivers the January 8 statement at the weekend.
Deputy national secretary Isaac Luthuli told Independent Media on Thursday that instead of empowering young people in general, the government had prioritised ANC-connected young people.
Luthuli said he would prefer Zuma to address the question of youth unemployment.
Zuma will be delivering the address, which is seen as the ANC programme of action, at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Sunday. The event would also be the celebration of the ANC’s 105th birthday.
Luthuli was among a number of leaders of the ANC-led alliance who spoke this week of the issues they hoped Zuma would talk about when he addresses ANC supporters on Sunday.
Luthuli said the opulent lifestyle of ANC leaders and people connected to them also needed to be addressed because it “exacerbates inequality”.
He said young people should be employed regardless of their political affiliation and who they voted for.
The ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Mdumiseni Ntuli, said Zuma should talk about the breakdown of unity and “the direction the organisation has taken”.
The divisions in the ruling party had seen it losing the Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg and Tshwane metros to the DA. In KwaZulu-Natal, the division saw members of the ANC turning against each other, exacerbating the situation which led to renewed political killings.
Other party members affiliated to the SACP went as far as contesting local government elections as independent candidates, which goes against the ANC’s policies.
Ntuli said he hoped Zuma’s speech would restore peace among foes within the ANC and the alliance.
“The president should tell us how the movement is responding to the challenges, having gone through a very difficult local government elections and contestation in public. It should give the direction of the organisation and the rest of the membership of the ANC,” he said.
Ntuli said the president should also talk about strengthening the National Democratic Revolution, which was a binding force between the ANC and its alliance partners.
ANC Youth League KZN spokesperson Mandla Shange said the lack of unity had affected the party across the country and was reflected in the outcome of the elections.
“We should plan how the ANC will regain the support it had lost, particularly in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape,” he said.
ANC Women’s League spokesperson, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, said it was expecting Zuma to talk about women empowerment. “We are expecting specific programmes that will empower young women, in particular, because the future of the country is young people.
“We want young women to be empowered in relation to issues of economic development as well,” she said.