ANC Youth League vows to support younger candidates in leadership race

The ANC’s Youth League, a once powerful voice which faces possible extinction, has vowed to support younger leaders vying for the top six positions and will be calling on anyone over 65 to retire from politics.

But deputy president hopeful and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told Weekend Argus tossing older leaders aside would further harm the party.

At least five former youth league leaders have said they would be available if nominated to serve in the ANC's top 6.

They are Lamola, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, former ANC Youth League deputy president and Eastern Cape provincial executive committee member Andile Lungisa, former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina and national spokesperson Pule Mabe.

ANCYL National Task Team (NTT) coordinator, Joy Maimela, said the structure would meet in the next few weeks to discuss who it would support.

"We believe that comrades who are 65 and above should retire. When we finally have our say and have an official position, we are going to support the younger generation.

“For the first time, there is a sufficient pool and we are seeing an emergence of many younger people that are bold enough to say we are available for the key positions and in the NEC," Maimela said.

But Lamola, who admitted that the party has so far failed to groom a second layer of leadership, said the ANC, when electing a new leadership in December, must strike a balance between the young and the old.

"That is why it is important for this conference to become that turning point," Lamola said.

Lamola is tipped to be on ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa's ticket and is vying for the position of deputy president.

"We need a generational mix. We need various generations to participate in the revolution and also in the leadership positions.

"Some of the experienced comrades who have played their roles and fought for our freedom, some of them we may still need, but the structure must have a dominant younger generation because you cannot wish all of them away because you need their wisdom," Lamola said.

Lamola has climbed up the ranks in the ANC, but his political career began in the now almost defunct youth league.

"The current state of the youth league is very sad for me because it affects the good pipeline of ANC younger cadres coming through the ranks of the ANC.

"The youth league is a very big institution with many years of existence. It is a prestigious institution and it should be a repository of education and learning for young members of the ANC, but what happened, happened and we just need to find a way now to ensure that it regains its strength," Lamola said.

But Mailela said while headway was made in preparation for the league’s national conference, there had been limited support from the ANC.

She said at least 44 congresses had convened across the country, with the task team in talks with the ANC's NEC for financial support.

The ANC is currently cash-strapped and has struggled to even pay salaries.

"The stumbling block is the financial resources, and that is a conversation we are having with the ANC to understand the financial constraints that the ANC is having.

"The support has not been sufficient. We cannot say the support is there, especially in terms of financial support," Mailela said.

She added that there seemed to be no will from the NEC to ensure the rebuilding of the youth league.

"I believe that if they had the will to assist the youth league to go to conference, then they would do that.

"The truth is that there are individuals, especially the older generation in the ANC, who would not want to see (the) youth league in its original form ... that is an influencer, a militant voice that commands respect and hegemony among young people.

"There are individuals who don't want that to happen, because if that happens, they know that the ANCYL would be critical of some of the decisions and actions they have taken," Mailela said.

The youth league was disbanded in 2018 when it failed to elect a new leadership to succeed that of Collen Maine.

Analysts, however, believe that the attempt by younger leaders to take over may be too late.

Political analyst, professor Zweli Ndevu said the current state of the ANCLY benefited senior leaders who stood to benefit from its demise.

“The ANC Youth League has been weakened by design, they are at a point where they will be told they can’t call for a generational mix when they can’t even put structures together, and this benefits the older generation such as Paul Mashatile,” Ndevu said.

Another analyst Lukhanyo Vangqa said: "It might be too late because they are taking control of a sinking ship. The Titanic has begun to sink, and whoever becomes captain of it during its last hours of voyage, it really doesn't make a difference.“

He said past youth league leaders previously “baptised them in the wrong habits of the ANC”.

“They made them join patronage networks instead of being the next layer of leadership. They used the ANCYL as faction fodder for them to collect numbers, as a result, the youth league of Mbalula, Maile was driven by what faction they stood behind,” he said.