Youth League infighting blamed for ANC losses
THE failure of the ANC at the polls in the Zululand District Municipality has been blamed on infighting among ANC Youth League members in the area.
The ANCYL in KwaZuluNatal squarely blamed its comrades in Abaqulusi Region, Vryheid, for the ANC’s defeat by the IFP.
The NFP and ANC had co-governed the Zululand District since 2011. But the IFP won a decisive victory despite the NFP, which had been disqualified from the elections, having sided with the ANC.
NFP leader Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi had supported a decision by party leaders for NFP members to vote for the ANC, to prevent the IFP taking over the district. However, the IFP prevailed. The provincial youth league this week cited infighting when it announced the dissolution of its regional bodies in Abaqulusi. The league also dissolved its Musa Dladla region for the same reason.
ANCYL provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabela took a swipe at the Abaqulusi youth league leadership, saying factionalism had cost the ANC votes in Zululand. He said campaigning was poor in Abaqulusi.
Sabela said the Abaqulusi and Musa Dladla regions’ youth leagues had been so dysfunctional that comrades had stopped talking to each other . “I don’t have to say when last they held meetings, because if I were to go to that detail it would be sad. The organisation was getting ripped apart.”
Sabela said the provincial structure had declined to take action against the troubled regions before the elections, to avoid negative publicity. “We knew if we had done it before elections, you (media) would have been on our backs saying ‘ANCYL is divided, the ANCYL is fighting’.” The ANC won in nine of the province’s 11 district municipalities.
Sabela said the ANC’s victory in many parts of the province would benefit youth league members, as they would dominate its municipalities as mayors, deputy mayors, speakers, executive committee members and ordinary councillors.
He said the league had been able to achieve its 40% youth representation in municipalities. This would be evident during the inauguration of the councils as “you will see how young people are in charge of this province. In one municipality, which I am not going to reveal, 100% belong to the young people. We are more than happy,” he said.