Big league before the little league

● The man tipped to take over as president of the ANC Youth League has abandoned that ambition to contest a place on the ANC eThekwini regional executive committee.

Thanduxolo Sabelo told the Sunday Times he had been approached by the youth league in eThekwini to instead contest the position of ANC regional deputy secretary.

Until now Sabelo, who is 33 years old, was seen as a presidential hopeful for the youth league.

But party insiders said the youth league was in disarray and that efforts to restore it had been taken over by proxy interests.

The league’s national executive committee, which had been led by Collen Maine, was disbanded this year and a national task team appointed to prepare for the league’s national conference.

Sabelo had been regarded as the frontrunner to replace Maine.

Sabelo’s supporters have since convinced him to join a leadership slate to oppose former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who is attempting to return to ANC leadership as regional chair.

Ramaphosa ally

Heading Sabelo’s group is ANC branch leader and Ramaphosa ally Thabani Nyawose, who is contesting the chair of the region, and former regional secretary Bheki Ntuli, who is bidding to return to that position.

“I have been approached to contest for deputy secretary in eThekwini and I told them that they must let ANC processes unfold. We will see what happens,” Sabelo said. He would “go where the ANC sends me”, but his supporters said he would “not wait for the youth league to sort itself out”.

Sabelo was recently appointed chair of the human settlements portfolio in the municipality. A position for him as one of the ANC’s top five leaders in the region would entrench his political muscle in eThekwini.

Campaigning by both sides in what used to be the ANC’s largest and most influential region has begun.

Gumede’s supporters insisted that she would return to her position despite facing criminal charges.

Collective

Nyawose and Ntuli are expected to lobby ANC branches this weekend in Durban ahead of the conference, which is expected to be held in December.

“The reason why we are contesting as a collective [is that] we believe the challenges confronting the ANC today need leaders of our calibre to renew and rebuild the ANC in eThekwini. We decided to come together with the youth league to do this,” Nyawose said.

Insiders in the youth league said Sabelo was not the only youth leader giving up on the league and taking his ambition to the mother body.

“We are all focusing on the ANC. We can’t be proxies of people any more. Even I am focusing on my [new] position in the provincial executive of the ANC,” the insider said.