Upholding the guilty verdict against ANC Youth League president Julius Malema and four others means an end to mobster leadership, the league in KwaZulu-Natal said on Sunday.
“Maintaining the verdict of [the] NDC [national disciplinary committee] symbolises the youth league in crisis with three full time comrades facing the possibility of expulsion and or suspension,” provincial deputy secretary Sboniso Duma said in a statement.
“This can also be defined as the lesson of history to all members that no member is bigger than the ANC.”
He said the league in KwaZulu-Natal was urging the ANC to act swiftly to curb the destabilisation of the league by Malema.
Malema, league spokesperson Floyd Shivambu, and secretary general Sandiso Magaqa were found guilty in November of bringing the ANC into disrepute and of sowing division in the party, partly for making comments about regime change in Botswana.
ANCYL deputy president Ronald Lamola, treasurer general Pule Mabe and deputy secretary general Kenetswe Mosenogi were also suspended.
On February 4, the ANC’s appeals committee announced it had dismissed attempts by Malema, Shivambu, Magaqa and the others to have the guilty verdicts against them overturned.
‘Opportunist behaviour’
Duma said Mabe had been visiting the regions in KwaZulu-Natal and campaigning to take over as president of the league from Malema.
“Pule Mabe’s behaviour is foreign and would not be allowed to go unchallenged. We are going to start an aggressive programme that will reject this opportunist behaviour,” he said.
Duma said the vote of no confidence against the ANCYL eThekwini regional chairperson Jomo Sibiya made a mockery of the league’s constitution.
This call came from the Magaqa and Malema factions of the league, he said. The resolution was taken at an ANCYL eThekwini regional executive committee (REC) meeting last weekend.
Duma said the REC was not empowered to take that decision.
“We must issue some lesson to all regions to obey and thoroughly familiarise with the constitutions principles … Comrade Jomo Sibiya remains the only chairperson elected by the congress so there is no confusion,” he said.
The ANCYL in KwaZulu-Natal also wanted Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate the expenditure pattern and accountability of the National Youth Development Agency’s (NYDA) mandate.
“The NYDA has failed to serve our people and we have totally lost confidence in this useless structure,” said Duma.
“The PEC [provincial executive committee] reached a consensus that the entire [NYDA] board must resign for it to be revived.” – Sapa
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