African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) Fundraiser Thuthukile Zuma (L) and Convener Nonceba Mhlauli brief media at Luthuli House in Johannesburg, 12 April 2021, on resolutions taken at the meeting on how the ANCYL will be re-established moving forward. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) national task team says it is funding itself and will not be approaching the cash-strapped mother body to pay for its elective conference.
Spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize on Wednesday said a finance committee established by the task team “has been hard at work” raising funds to cover expenses for the overdue conference.
The event was initially scheduled to take place between 25 and 27 March.
Mkhize said it has since been postponed to April due to “administrative glitches.”
She denied reports the delay was because of a lack of funds.
“We had administrative issues such as branch general meeting packs, but that has now been resolved. The conference has been postponed to April because time is not on our side.”
“But we are financially fit to hold the elective conference, we know that the mother body cannot fulfil its own financial obligations… we are raising our own money.
“The ANC doesn’t have money, we can’t trust them with this.”
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National task team convenor Nonceba Mhlauli and her 34 member team were appointed in 2021 to oversee the affairs of the youth structure until the election of new leaders.
They took over from National Executive Committee (NEC) members who failed to lead the league to conference after it was disbanded in 2018.
Mhlauli and team were given six month to take the league to conference as part of its terms of reference, but that has since turned into almost a year without a conference sitting.
The ANC’s youth organisation state of disarray dates back to 2012, when former leader Julius Malema was expelled from the party.
Former president Collen Maile’s leadership structure that was elected in 2015 was disbanded after it failed to elect new leaders.
Financial troubles, allegations of age cheating and deepened divisions marred the league over the years.
The ANC will head to a national conference in December, where President Cyril Ramaphosa will battle it out against the radical economic transformation (RET faction) in his quest to win a second term.
The newfound independence from the mother body was favoured by the youth cohort, as it would limit the ANC’s control and influence over the conference and its outcome, said Mkhize.
“When the elders [ANC] fund us, they control whoever they want, they even control where the venue should be.
“This is the ANCYL being autonomous, independent and financing itself.”
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