JOHANNEBURG - The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Monday night blamed its former leaders for it being declared bankrupt by a court.
In a statement, the ANCYL said former leaders Julius Malema, Floyd Shivambu and Andile Lili had failed to honour an out of court deal struck with Helen Zille to pay her legal fees after she sued them for defamation for calling her a "racist girl" in 2010.
The failure to pay the legal costs resulted in the high court in Johannesburg issuing an insolvency order.
"The ANCYL was, therefore, made aware of this matter recently. Upon being altered, we contacted all parties involved to resolve the matter swiftly," the statement said.
The ANCYL wishes to categorically state that the leadership of the ANCYL has fulfilled its legal obligation and paid the said debt after communicating with the affected parties."
The youth league further said: "The recent legal bill is one of the many issues the ANCYL inherited from the former structure under the leadership of Malema. It should be said that this matter was never handed over as a result of the disbandment of the previous structure of the ANCYL".
The league said it was consulting its lawyers to resolve the matter.