Durban - The ANC’s provincial leadership in KwaZulu-Natal has been given the thumbs down, with the party’s youth wing on Tuesday calling for its elective conference to be held before the end of the year.
A statement released on Tuesday by the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) warned that the ANC was being tarnished by factionalism.
“We hold a firm view that the current form of the PEC will not help the organisation any further.”
The statement, signed off by the ANCYL’s provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo and spokesman Mkhuseli Sondzaba, said that ANCYL had decided to back Sihle Zikalala for provincial chairman of the party and Super Zuma for provincial secretary.
Zikalala is currently the provincial secretary while Zuma - no relation to President Jacob Zuma - is currently the chairman of the ANC in Moses Mabida (Pietermaritzburg) region. The current chairman of the party in KwaZulu-Natal is Senzo Mchunu, who is also the province’s premier.
The battles within the ANC have been highlighted by the squabbles that have resulted in its inability to elect the leadership of the party’s largest region - the eThekwini region - with the regional elective conference having been aborted four times in the past year.
Last month ANC spokesman Sicelo Khuzwayo said the conference would be held before mid-October.
“The ailing ANC is an impediment to the broader agenda for young people. Equally, the formation of the Youth League was partly to ensure the continued renewal and relevance of the ANC. As a result we cannot fold hands when the ANC appears to be devouring itself,” read the ANCYL statement.
According to Sabelo, the ANCYL had 820 branches in the province with almost 100 000 members.
ANA