Champagne will not flow freely and there will be no stiff single malts when the ANC Youth League meets for its 25th national conference next week.
Given the league’s dire financial position, its entire executive structure being disbanded, and almost being liquidated by the courts for debts running into millions of rands, the ANC has stepped in to ensure that the youth league’s conference is frugal.
In a draft organisational report that the Mail & Guardian has seen, the national task team co-ordinator, Magasela Mzobe, said the league’s financial situation was hindering the rebuilding of the organisation.
He said that the league depended solely on the office of the ANC treasurer general, Zweli Mkhize.
“Whilst under provisional financial liquidation, we have had to depend wholly on the TG’s office for our mobility and other resource demands,” he wrote.
The league faced provisional sequestration for its nonpayment of R4-million for the use of Gallagher Estate in Midrand for its 2011 conference.
It is understood that after several postponements – because of a lack of funds – the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) tasked its deputy secretary general, Jessie Duarte, to take over the planning and execution of the league’s national conference.
The league initially planned to return to Gallagher Estate for its conference but the company asked for a hefty down payment, which the league could not afford.
At the league’s last Midrand conference, when Julius Malema was in charge, it held a lavish conference and then could not pay its bills.
When the league’s executive structure under Malema was disbanded, a task team was appointed to rebuild the organisation and to get it out of the red. But it struggled to manage the debt and the ANC intervened to save the 70-year-old organisation.
The M&G understands that, instead of raising funds to pay off debts, the task team incurred more debt, which resulted in further court action.
The media company, Picasso Headlines, served the league with a summons earlier this year for its failure to pay R22 515 for an advertorial taken out by Mzobe’s leadership last year.
The advertorial in the New Agenda publication congratulated the African Union for its 50 years of existence.
Once again, the ANC had to bail out the league.
The ruling party has its own financial woes and is struggling to keep itself afloat. It lost 16 parliamentary seats in the May general elections, which decreased its electoral funding by R20-million.
For the conference, the league plans to accommodate 3 000 branch delegates and 500 guests at the four-day conference at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus.
The university’s spokesperson, Herman Esterhuizen, said the institution was approached by Duarte on behalf of the league to use the conference venue and the ANC was made to pay a deposit to secure the venue.
“There are two contracts: one for the residences and the other for the conference facilities, which are to be signed by the ANC,” he said.
Mzobe refused to comment on the league’s finances.
The ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, said “a mother always looks after the child” and that the ANC always assisted its leagues at the time of their congresses. This was no different, he said.
He defended Duarte’s intervention and said she was asked to assist the tentative leadership structure in the run-up to the gathering.
“The DSG [deputy secretary general] helped them to deal with queries and objections,” he said.
At the league’s previous conference, there was little doubt about who would be elected to lead the organisation and there was a stronger emphasis on policy. Malema was re-elected unopposed at that congress, but was later expelled from the ANC.
Three-and-a-half years later, the focus is more about the election of its leadership than policy discussions. The contest is between the league’s former treasurer, now an NEC member and MP, Pule Mabe, and the man who was entrusted with rebuilding the league, Mzobe.
The Northern Cape provincial leadership said it supported Mzobe because of his commitment to rebuilding the league.
“The league suffered a lot and we are happy with the rebuilding process. That is why we came out in support of Magasela Mzobe,” said Neo Maneng, the provincial secretary.
Mzobe also enjoys the support of the Eastern Cape, Free State and North West.
Those who support him are also pushing for task team member Mawethu Rune to be the league’s secretary general.
Mzobe said he hoped the focus of the conference would be on the development of young people.
“We hope the congress will come up with a concrete programme of action to improve education and fight crime and corruption,” he said.
The league in Gauteng has thrown its weight behind Mabe. Its provincial secretary, Bones Modise, said, after an intense debate at Gauteng’s provincial congress, the decision had been taken. “It was a congress resolution. We debated three names – Mabe, Mzobe and Ronald Lamola – and congress decided to support Mabe,” he said.
Lamola, a former league deputy president, is also eyeing the top
position but has apparently failed to garner much support.
He said, should he be elected leader, he would prioritise the “radical economic policies” that the league approved at its 2011 conference. Lamola said he wanted to see the league emerge “militant” and “radical”.
“I hope that they are going to convene a legitimate conference of the youth league, constitutionally and according to all the rules.”