Maine says he should 'preferably' be the one to succeed Ramaphosa

ANC Youth League President Collen Maine. File picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency (ANA).

ANC Youth League President Collen Maine. File picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency (ANA).

Published Apr 17, 2019

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 Durban - As the ANC Youth League continues its quest for its youth to occupy senior leadership positions in the ANC and parliament, its president Collen Maine says that former ANCYL presidents, preferably himself, should succeed Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president.

Maine told ANCYL members and Sasco students at the Mansfield Hall at the Durban University of Technology that the league's erstwhile leaders such as Lulu Johnson, Malusi Gigaba and Fikile Mbalula should be in the running for the party's presidency.

"We must continue today that after President Ramaphosa one of this generation I've spoken about; Malusi Gigaba, Lulu Johnson, Fikile Mbalula and myself, one of us must be president and preferably myself," Maine said to a claps and laughter from the hall.

"At this hour the ANC needs young people to take over, at the last conference we took a position that 40% of everything in the ANC and the government must be young people. We have not achieved that because the ANC has given us 20%.

"We must continue to strive for that because the Women's League started at 30% but they today have 50% so we must not tire in engaging in the struggle of 40%.

He said that they should not elect people because "they appear too much on TV" and that they should be realistic to the current material conditions which require young blood.

"The old blood has reached a ceiling. They enjoy being madams and chiefs because when you're ministers and MECs, civil servants call you chief or madam and you enjoy that and you forget about the manifesto of the ANC particularly as it relates to Youth Development," Maine said.

In an apparent endorsement of ANCYL KZN provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo, Maine said that he would visit the branches regions of the youth league to lobby for his successor who can lead in “one direction” in the coming years.

The “one direction” slogan is synonymous with Sabelo’s campaign for the youth league presidency.

With the Youth League looking to host its national conference between 06 and 11 September later this year Maine also urged the ANCYL structures in the province to quorate, as they had failed to do so last, so that the conference can go ahead.

“Please can you hurry up and and quorate from the 9th of May as people celebrate the victory of the ANC we must be on BGMs (Branch General Meetings) so that on the 6th to the 11th of September have a national conference.

“We cannot afford to have a president who’s not within the age limit of young people, so the youth league needs someone who can loudhail and resonate your view, I can’t loudhail anymore,” Maine said.  

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