Has ‘eldership’ infiltrated ANC Youth League task team?

The ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters is trying to verify that all members who are part of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) National Youth Task Team (NYTT) are young enough to be part of the task team.

This comes after the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) heard on Monday that there were concerns in the newly established youth body that some members were misrepresenting their ages.

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“The NWC reaffirmed the principle that members appointed to serve on the NYTT must comply with the provisions of the ANCYL constitution, including the age for membership, and called upon the ANC SGO [secretary-general’s office] to attend to all matters of compliance at all levels of ANCYL structures,” the NWC said in a statement.

Insiders said that there were suspicions that at least one member misrepresented his age by having two identity documents.

Another member of the ANCYL NYTT is said to have already turned 35, disqualifying him from the position.

The cut-off age for youth league members is 35. In the past, the age restriction was a bone of contention.

The previous leader of the ANCYL, Collen Maine, was famously elected on the eve of his 35th birthday, with him insisting that he was “34.5” and still eligible for the position.

When Maine’s leadership collective was disbanded, a team of former youth league leaders were set up to rebuild the structure.

But the national executive committee (NEC) dissolved it after youth league members complained that they were being led by “eldership”.

The NWC was said to have instructed ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte to verify the ages of all members of the NYTT to ensure compliance.

Qaanitah Hunter