LYDENBURG – The former ANC Youth League (Ancyl) president, Mr Fikile
Mbalula has reassured members in the province that the much anticipated national elective conference will finally convene as
planned this year.
Even though Mbalula didn’t give a date, he did say the conference which has been postponed a number of times is likely to happen any time soon, between July and September. “I am happy to say that Ancyl in the province is alive and is leading.
We will soon go to the youth-league congress to elect our new leadership, fresh from the box. We do not want that same old youth league. We will have a league that is alive, strong and respects the policies and processes of the ANC.
I am acting as a convener now, and I can assure you that soon we will have a new leadership,” he said. Mbalula, also the current sports minister, addressed young people this past Sunday at Mashishing Stadium in Thaba Chweu during the June 16, 1976 Memorial Lecture.
“There are those who have taken the Ancyl to court. I want to tell them that there is no court that will ever run the ANC and its
structures. “People must respect internal democracies, and those that have taken the organisation to court will meet the full wrath of the discipline of the ANC.
We will never tolerate anarchy in the
organisation. “Anarchy is something of yesterday. We will go defend ourselves in court and we will go back to congress and those who connive and bring about all this anarchy will meet the wrath of the
ANC.
“We are not going to be apologetic, this organisation is not a picnic for boys to urinate on and do as they please. The ANC is not about an individual but about all of us here. “So believe me, there will be
consequences,” he lashed out.
Mbalula also used the platform to warn the young people about the
dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol. He urged them to prioritise education as it was the key to economic freedom. “It’s not cool to abuse drugs and drink alcohol from sunset till the next day,” he warned.