Cash-strapped ANC could foot the bill for bankrupt youth league’s conference

The ANC will likely foot the bill for its bankrupt youth league when it goes to its elective conference in March.

The league was disbanded in August after it failed to go to conference for the third time.

The party heeded the call of many young members who had called for a national task team to be established in its place.

In July 2019, News24 reported that the structure was left bankrupt when the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled in favour of then-Western Cape premier Helen Zille who was seeking payment from a defamation case. It was then forced into liquidation.

The case relates to an incident in 2010 when former leaders Julius Malema, Andile Lili and Floyd Shivambu allegedly referred to Zille as a racist.

The structure is currently fighting to have its liquidation rescinded.

The task team held a media briefing on Monday where its convener, Sbongile Besani, said the source of its liquidation was its debt.

Besani added that the ANC as the league’s mother body had an obligation to take that responsibility.

When asked if the league was financially capable of going to conference, he said: “We are under liquidation now but if we were to strictly confine ourselves to financial jargon we would say no.

“Our assets don’t exceed our liabilities but because we are within the mother body, we know it walks step by step with the youth league so I don’t think we should dislodge the youth league from the ANC.”

The cost for conferences, which bring together members from across the country, could run into millions, as operational, hotel and food bills pile up.

The ANC, however, is still suffering from its own financial challenges.

Recently, City Press reported that one service provider was suing the party for R5.7 million after it failed to pay for the 595 cars it rented for the 2017 Nasrec conference.

During his final report as treasurer-general at the conference, Zweli Mkhize said the party was technically insolvent as its liabilities exceeded the value of its assets.

The task team also co-opted more women to join the structure after it was criticised internally for featuring a predominantly male team.

When the structure was first introduced, those who advocated for the disbandment of the youth league criticised the national executive committee for installing a task team that mirrored the old one. This is the third task team appointed to help the structure get to conference.

Zuko Godlimpi was among the leaders of the disbandment faction.

He told News24 earlier the task team needed to have members of the youth league who were 14 to 35 years old.

The party, however, argued that those within the task team needed to have institutional memory to facilitate the conference.

Those already included in the task team are former league presidents Malusi Gigaba, Fikile Mbalula, Collen Maine and Lulu Johnson.

Female leaders who will join the task team include Gumani Mukwevho, Joy Maimela, Loyiso Lugayeni-Masuku, Mbali Hlophe, Precious Banda, Sizophila Mkhize, Tasneem Motara and Tlangi Mogale.

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