ANC Youth League members in the Western Cape are on the fence on whether to support growing calls for the dissolving of the league’s leadership.
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) is preparing to meet in Cape Town on Tuesday to tackle the issue around the league’s national structures - six years after it was first dissolved under then-youth league president Julius Malema’s leadership.
The league failed a number of times to hold a conference to elect new leadership last year. Structures from Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the North-West province have been vocal about their support for the disbandment.
But the league’s Western Cape chairperson, Mohammed Khalid-Sayed, said the provincial exective committee (PEC) did not have time to meet and discuss the matter to come up with a resolution.
“Regardless of whatever decision, we will commit ourselves to supporting any decisions that is taken by the NEC. If they decide not to disband, and say it must go to congress, we will support it,” he said.
“Our term in the province ends in January next year. Regardless of what happens that side, we will focus on having successful congress in the next seven months.
“My own view is that if there is a disbandment, it needs to be politically thought through and we don’t want a situation where we have a task team in place for a very long period, which is what happened when the previous leadership was dissolved. We must have an elected leadership as a matter of urgency made up of young people who can serve the ANC.”
But some disgruntled PEC members say there hasn’t been an opportunity for the league to discuss the matter as the leadership has not sat for a meeting since October last year - where a meeting in Laingsburg descended into chair-throwing. The structure has met only three times since the new leadership was elected in January 2018.
“The organisation is dysfunctional in the province, the PEC is being run like a WhatsApp group which only meets online and decisions are taken there,” said a member who did not want to be identified.
According to some members, the province cannot speak with one voice because some leaders fear that a disbandment would lead to their possible removal as provincial task teams are put in place in favour of a “total renewal” of the organisation - which could result in some people’s terms of office being cut short.