Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota will go into his party’s elective conference with the support of the party youth wing.
“We support the president of the party. We have no preferred person going into the conference. We support a tested and corrupt-free leadership, we do not back personality,” said newly elected Cope Youth Movement president Nqaba Bhanga on Tuesday.
Briefing journalists about the resolution of the first elective youth conference, he said the conference resolved to respect party leaders.
“We will support and respect a collective leadership emerging from the conference” he said.
He said the youth were supporting Lekota as the leader of the party, until the current leadership was dissolved at the party elective conference.
“As for now we support the president of the party.”
He explained that in-fighting in Cope had affected the development of its youth wing.
‘Use youth to grow the party’
“Squabbles within Cope structures hindered the development of the youth. The youth is the foundation of any organisation.”
As result of the in fighting, the party had failed to seize the opportunity to use its youth to grow the party.
” We failed to take the opportunity to build a strong Cope and made the party’s work easy.”
He said it was unfortunate that the youth structure put in place to develop youth after the formation of Cope two years ago had diverted from its mandate of setting up branch and provincial structures. Instead it was used as a platform in leadership battles.
“The conference resolve to build a culture of respect, where leaders and elders are respected.
“We want to move away from a conduct where youth are being used a platform to advance leadership battles.”
He said as per conference resolution they wanted to be a voice of the youth, addressing issues affecting youth such as funding for education and business initiatives, and reducing unemployment.
Party leaders Lekota and his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa have been in and out of courts over the party’s leadership.
Cope first elective conference is scheduled to start in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Bhanga said indications from province were that Lekota was the most preferred candidate for the party’s presidency. — Sapa