POLOKWANE – Limpopo ANC’s secretary, Reuben Madadzhe promised to meet with youths of the Mighty Milo Malatjie branch after they vowed not to participate in the 2024 election campaigns without the benefit of being employed by the organisation in exchange.
Last month, ANCYL members in Seshego expressed their dissatisfaction of recruiting locals to vote for the ANC, at a time that more than half of them (63%) were unemployed.
Read more: No campaigning for the ANC until you give us jobs – Seshego ANCYL
ANCYL chairperson Ben Mamadi said in the past, they had some regional, provincial and national leaders promise them jobs for as long as they campaigned in the run-up to the election, but that this never materialised.
While the party’s Peter Mokaba region spokesperson, Adolph Rapetsoa heavily criticised the league for requesting jobs for “only a selected group of youths in the country”, he said those who make such demands would be joining the organisation’s work for the wrong reasons.
“They should instead be focusing on jobs for all youths, as the region recently advocated for the scrapping of work experience as a prerequisite for graduated youths to be employed.”
Meanwhile, during last Wednesday’s media briefing about outcomes of the provincial executive committee meeting held the previous day at Frans Mohlala House in Polokwane, Madadzhe said he had no knowledge of the ANCYL’s demands.
“The issue of employment is a challenge given how rural the province is, but we will be meeting with them.”
He also cautioned against members who campaign on the basis of making unwarranted promises to locals.
“When you say ‘vote or help us campaign and we will give you jobs’, that is against the policy of the ANC. We recruit on the basis of pushing the constitution of South Africa to better its people,” he concluded.
Mamadi said they would await hearing from the PEC.
