Youth league slams ‘illegitimate’ seminars

A GROUP of dissident members of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), that has dubbed itself the “ANC Youth Activists”, has threatened legal action over what it called “illegitimate” regional conferences.

Former ANCYL Western Cape regional task team member Mesuli Kama said the provincial executive committee (PEC) was not legitimate, and thus could not organise regional conferences.

“The term of the PEC of the ANCYL ended in February and they have not held constitutional meetings of the PEC. Now they want to hold regional conferences. They are not allowed to do that,” said Kama.

The ANCYL PEC convened two regional conferences, one in Central Karoo and another in the Southern Cape over the weekend.

Kama argued that the PEC held regional conferences in areas which have not yet held their branch general meetings in accordance with the party’s constitution.

He said the PEC rushed to hold regional conferences in order to influence the nomination of national leadership at the party’s December conference.

“What they’re doing is creating the perception that young people in the Western Cape are supporting Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to be president of the ANC. They want to rush the regional conferences where they will pronounce Dlamini Zuma as the preferred leader,” added Kama.

However, ANC insiders have indicated that the preferred candidate in the province is deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Out of all the branches that have concluded their BGMs, Ramaphosa received 78 nominations.

Kama said Dlamini Zuma is not widely supported in the province.

“The NDZ campaign has not been able to find its feet. It obtained less that 30% of the nominations in the province,” he said.

Kama said membership of the regions and BGMs which had been held had not been audited in accordance with procedure.

“We are in a process of getting legal advice with the intention of obtaining an interdict against the PEC and NEC of the Youth League for allowing these conferences to happen outside the constitutional plan.”

The faction has also accused National Youth Development Agency chairperson Sfiso Mtsweni, who is also a member of the ANCYL national executive, of using the organisation’s funds to run his campaign to succeed Collen Maine as youth league president next year.

They further allege that he appointed his fiancée as the regional task team coordinator in the Southern Cape.

Mtsweni denied the allegations.