Durban – Divisions have been laid bare in the ANC Youth League leadership after a national executive member publicly attacked its president, Collen Maine, for endorsing certain leaders for party presidency without the mandate to do so.
This is the first time divisions in the league have surfaced, as it was previously believed that its leadership was firmly behind AU Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
ANCYL KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Thanduxolo Sabelo was left fuming by the incident and has called for disciplinary measures to be brought against Rhulani Thembi Siweya for writing an anti-Maine letter, which was circulated on social media on Wednesday.
In the letter Siweya accused Maine of bypassing “some of us” in lobbying for certain leaders to be elected during the ANC elective conference in December.
Sabelo said the ANCYL should not tolerate Siweya’s conduct.
“There is no way a leader of the ANCYL goes out publicly to attack the president of the ANCYL. She must not be left unattended to by the national disciplinary committee of the ANCYL,” said Sabelo.
It is believed that Dlamini Zuma was among leaders that Siweya is accusing Maine of campaigning for.
Sabelo, who is also a national executive committee (NEC) member, denied Maine had lobbied without the knowledge of teh NEC.
“If she has a problem with the posture of the president she must come to the NEC as a member. We are very concerned, because in the NEC she never raised these issues.”
Siweya alleged Maine was campaigning for “candidates” without having opened the matter for debate within the league”.
“Why don’t we as the NEC open the debate about leadership preference and consult structures before you pronounce on their behalf without a mandate to do so?
“Worse, the NEC has never taken a resolution – all I remember is that we agreed to discuss the issue later on. I am saddened you are already all over, expressing yourself and making it sound like an NEC decision,” wrote Siweya.
She called on Maine to cease making such pronouncements “because even the ANC has not yet officially allowed us to start debating the matter”.
“We must never do things outside guidelines of the organisation we aspire to lead one day.
“Let us be organisational! This conduct is very wrong,” she said.
ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa had early this week called on party structures to cease dividing the ANC by prematurely endorsing their preferred party presidential candidates.
The ANCYL, MK Veterans Association and Women’s League have pronounced on Dlamini Zuma as their preferred candidate to succeed President Jacob Zuma. Cosatu and SACP have openly backed Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sabelo on Wednesday defended the ANCYL for nominating Dlamini Zuma before time.
“The ANCYL sparks debate internally in the ANC. We continue to play the same role as Peter Mokaba, Fikile Mbalula, Sihle Zikalala, Malusi Gigaba, Lulu Johnson and (founding) president Anton Lembede. So there is absolutely nothing new that we have done. We have done everything that the ANCYL was established to do,” said Sabelo.
He said the league nominated Dlamini Zuma because “we are not ashamed of the leaders we want to back”. “We don’t at all regret having pronounced Nkosazana.”
However, Sabelo said the league would discuss the matter with the ANC’s NEC.
ANCYL national spokesman Mlondolozi Mkhize also condemned Siweya. “We would have hoped that comrade Thembi was going to raise the matter within the structures of the ANCYL,” said Mkhize.
He denied that Maine had pronounced Dlamini Zuma as the league’s preference.
“The president said we do agree with the women’s league in saying that we should get a female president. A female president is not the name of an individual,” he said.
University of KwaZulu-Natal political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu said he was expecting more divisions ahead of the December elective conference.
He said the situation could worsen after the conference as members of the defeated faction would be left disgruntled. “This (letter by Siweya) shows that there are serious divisions not only in the mother body, but even in the ANCYL.
“I would imagine that even in the ANCWL we would soon hear someone coming out saying we were never consulted about this decision to endorse Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. Between now and October we can expect more of these things,” said Ndlovu.