The ANC needs to ‘humble itself’
FORMER ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa said the ANC should humble itself, and plead with EFF leader Julius Malema to return to his former political home.
Magaqa was the secretary-general of the league until it was disbanded in 2012 after its leadership was found guilty of bringing the ANC into disrepute. He was suspended while Malema and Floyd Shivambu were expelled from the party.
Instead of following Malema to form the EFF, Magaqa returned to his home region of Harry Gwala in KwaZuluNatal where he worked in his branch in Umzimkhulu to rebuild his political reputation in the party.
Independent Media met Magaqa in Ixopo where he had attended a memorial lecture of late struggle stalwart Stephen Dlamini, delivered by ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
Magaqa said since defectors were not knocking at the ANC door asking to come back, the ANC “must take serious consideration to engage everyone starting from the UDM, Cope and all those breakaways from the movement.”
“My view is that those are our comrades, and they must be engaged. If we have managed to engage NNP, the murderers, what would stop us from engaging one of our own,” he said.
Magaqa said the call for radical economic transformation and expropriation of land without compensation was initiated by the ANCYL under Malema’s leadership but rejected by the current ANC leadership.
He said only through transformation of economic policies would South Africa manage to “respond to the challenges of our people”.
He said he was pinning his hopes on the ANC national policy conference next month to take a final decision on the land and economic issues.
Magaqa said within the current national executive committee of the ANC, only Dlamini Zuma qualified to retain a leadership position as all others have been part of infighting and commotion. He said all others, including Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, should step down when Zuma leaves.
“I am saying we must elect new officials. We must bring people who have not been part of this commotion that is in the organisation,” he said.