Collen Malatji. File photo
A new proposal for a sixth position to be added to the top leadership of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has received support from presidential contender Collen Malatji.
Malatji, whose campaign for the structures presidency has already gained steam, is hoping that an additional deputy secretary general will respond to a call by female members for more representation.
He said the proposal had been accepted by branches and regions of the young lions.
“It’s been lobbied everywhere and I think it’s accepted. I have not heard anyone rejecting it … We don’t take the outcry of women. I have a history of supporting women,” he said.
“When I left the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) I was succeeded by a female president, the late Sandra Baloyi. Five officials is an odd number where you are likely to have more males or more females.”
This change means that the youth league will have to amend its constitution when it sits for its national elective conference in June. Additions to the party’s top brass were first introduced at the December 2022 conference, when Maropeni Ramokgopa was elected as the second deputy secretary general.
The Daily Maverick reported that the ANC Women’s League is also hoping to expand its top officials to include a chair and second deputy secretary general.
Malatji has received an endorsement from Gauteng, his home province, to succeed Collen Maine as the youth league president.
In its statement, the Gauteng provincial preparatory committee said it would send its convenor and the coordinator have discussions with other provinces.
The provincial committee said it was confident that its pick for president would resonate with its members.
“For the longest time we have attracted the wrong youth. The youth league became an object of hooliganism. Those are the things we are trying to address. We want a youth league of young professionals, students in varsity and tertiary,” Malatji said.
He added that he was confident that within six months of electing a new leadership the youth league would regain its status as “the voice of unemployed and frustrated youth”.
Insiders in the youth league, who spoke on condition of anonymity, have accused Malatji of having close ties with ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, which gives him an unfair advantage in the elections. One ANC youth league task team member said Mbalula was marshalling support for Malatji in other provinces.
Malatji denied having received any support from Mbalula. “I’ve got my own credentials, everyone knows who I am. I’ve been a national leader my whole life. Maybe it’s because I preferred him as secretary general and I was at the forefront of running his campaign, now people automatically think he will support me.”
“He [Mbalula] has never said he supports me, I don’t remember him informing anyone to support me. I don’t want support from any member of the ANC I only want support from the youth league.
“If i’m not elected it must be because the youth league of the ANC does not prefer me at this time to be its leader. I don’t want to be elected on the ticket of old people. That would be very wrong.”
The league has in the past been used by ANC leaders to further their political interest. Former ANC youth league president and now Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema used his influence in the structure to gain support for Jacob Zuma when he went up against Thabo Mbeki for the position of party leader in Polokwane.
Maine, who succeeded Malema, was also considered a puppet during his term.
Malatji’s slate includes Eastern Cape heavyweight Mntuwoxolo Ngudle, who is expected to receive support from the biggest regions in the province. Ngudle is standing for the position of secretary general and is likely to go up against Khulekani Skosana.
His slate, which is campaigning under the banner “economic freedom or death”, is made up of KwaZulu-Natal’s eMalahleni regional leader Phumzile Mgcina, who is running for deputy president.
Mgcina is expected to attract the stubborn KwaZulu-Natal vote, which has in the past endorsed leaders from its home province.
Limpopo ANC youth league leader Tsakani Shiviti will be on Malatji’s slate for the position of deputy secretary general, with former Mpumalanga youth league Zwelo Masilela running for the position of treasurer general.
“Apart from my credentials I don’t believe there is anyone below 35 years that has served in the youth league in the last 15 years. I’ve led Cosas and Sasco [South African Students Congress] at national level. I’ve been in the youth league for longer than anyone else and I believe that that is the advantage I have,” Malatji said.
“I was engaged to go to the ANC’s national executive committee but I refused because I wanted to focus on the youth league. I said we can’t all go to the NEC. We supported Nonceba [Mhlauli], Zuko [Godlimpi] and not that we did not have support. We had more support than any of them but we decided to remain so that we rebuild the youth league because we felt that it is a voice that is missing in the ANC and in the country.”
Other names that have been touted for the position of league president include Itumeleng Notsi and Sizophila Mkhize. Youth League members are said to be lobbying Mkhize to run for the secretary general position. The Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were previously in talks to form an alliance.
The league was disbanded in 2018 when it failed to elect new leaders to take over from those of Maine. The task team that ran the league was ordered to take the young lions to their elective conference, but the Covid-19 national lockdown caused another delay.
The task team was then disbanded and a new one with a younger cohort installed.
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