The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in Gauteng has nominated Gauteng finance minister Paul Mashatile for provincial chairperson, the league said on Monday. He would succeed Mbhazima Shilowa.
At an extended meeting of its provincial executive committee, the ANCYL agreed on a set of broad characteristics for the collective leadership in order to ”take the organisation forward”, said Lebogang Maile, provincial secretary.
”The chairperson must espouse unity, encourage critical debate and provide decisive leadership, under the guidance of the provincial collective.”
The chairperson has to help the organisation ensure that its decisions are carried through by all structures, and that the culture and traditions of the ANC are preserved while the organisation continues to re-engineer itself to adapt to new situations, Maile said.
”The leader must be a bridge between the various generations and among structures of the ANC [such as the ANC Women’s League, tripartite alliance and ANCYL]. This will assist in building greater cohesion in defining clear roles with respect to taking the programme of the organisation forward,” said Maile.
The ANCYL had consulted with a broad spectrum of members of the ANC and there was broad consensus that Mashatile met the league’s criteria, added Maile.
Provincial education minister Angie Motshekga has been nominated for the position of deputy chairperson, while housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane has been nominated for the office of provincial treasurer.
The Gauteng provincial conference will be held on October 6 in Midrand.
Maile said the ANCYL did not wish to enter into the debate on who would succeed Shilowa as Gauteng Premier. ”Shilowa will leave the province in 2009, and the next premier will be selected through the channels agreed to at the ANC policy conference,” he said.
The Mail & Guardian reported at the end of August that a major information technology company had employed Mashatile’s daughter as it awaited the outcome of two multimillion-rand tenders from an agency answerable to him.
Business Connexion, part of the listed Business Connexion Group, won both tenders in June 2005. This was two months after it had employed Palesa Mashatile, who now goes by her married surname of Nonkwelo.
Nonkwelo is the second Mashatile relative known to have benefited from a contractor. The M&G reported the previous month that a consultant to the provincial government had paid tuition fees for Mashatile’s nephew.