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ANC Youth League lost its relevance

I have read with great interest the article penned by none other than Comrade Shaka Sisulu titled, ‘Young Lions stayin’ alive’ which was published in the City Press, 30 November 2014. I then came to one conclusion that the writer, who also serves in the ANC Youth League’s NTT structure is very economic with his facts, facts that are in the public domain in anyway. His conclusions on the relevance of the ANC Youth League are based on anecdotes thus placing emphasis on wishy-washy ‘stuff’. It is no exaggeration to put it to you that the ANC Youth League has indeed become so irrelevant and I doubt if it will ever get back to shape.

History has it on record that the founding cluster of the ANC Youth League which was led by Anton Lembede, AP Mda (upon whom Lembede’s mantle had fallen), Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, John Ngubane and many others, its cause was mainly to serve as a pressure group within the ANC and publicly arouse its consciousness among Africans and young people in general.

What distinguishes the founding fathers of the ANC Youth League from today’s cult is that its leaders were extraordinary able men who rallied behind the ANC, its policies in a disciplined manner. Well, today in the ANC Youth League you see a lot of shady characters, political clowns and position seekers who masquerade as vanguards of the ‘economic freedom in our lifetime’ dictum.

The ANC Youth League has always been seen to be the custodians of our future. And this challenged the organisation to always continue playing a critical role in deepening the democracy in our country. It is highly improbable that one can make this reference to today’s Youth League which has been reduced to a ‘desk’ within the ANC.  

If the ANC Youth League is deemed to be so relevant, strong as ever, why has it outsourced the thinking around the format of its recently held conference to the ANC and not its own membership? Was this a silent admission that it has no capabilities of handling its own affairs? Obviously judging by the infighting, rowdiness at every opportunity to disrupt its own conferences and failure to hold successful congresses at both regional and provincial levels leaves a lot to be desired.

I wish to argue that if the ANC Youth League had never lost its relevance, it would still be having a duly elected leadership in office, a leadership that would have received the mandate from its collective membership as opposed to a NTT that accounts to the ANC as opposed to its general membership. This is such a flawed approach as it seeks to monopolise all the thinking responsibilities to the mother body. Again, this confirms the point I have raised earlier that the ANC Youth League remains a youth desk within the ANC.

The manner in which the ANC Youth League is so divided, broken and intellectually challenged made matters even worse for the NTT to bring it back to shape. It became apparent that dissolving the leadership of the organisation was not well thought through thus rendering it a knee-jerk reaction to ill-disciplined forces that are now commonly referred to as ‘class of 2008’. The upsurge of this class into the leadership echelons of the ANC Youth League constituted a serious threat to its ideals and fight for economic liberation of young people and this further weakened and undermined its political programmes and that of the ANC.

 To gauge the relevance of the ANC Youth League by the number of ‘political superstars’ it has created and how well they sing disseminates confusion and confirms that the organisation has turned into a mere politically bankrupt grouping. It looks to me that the writer mistakenly confused the Youth League with a grouping of screeching megaphones who lack substance. The writer is actually playing mockery of all the efforts made by the selfless leaders and general membership of the ANC Youth League, of which his grandfather was once a part of.

The formation of the ANC Youth League back in 1944 literally changed the cause of our history and most importantly shaped greatly our fight against apartheid.  It reinforced the political programmes of the ANC in society, and reproduced the ideas of the ANC among the youth by bringing the youth into the struggle for real freedom under the broad political ambit of the ANC.

This confirms how relevant the ANC Youth League was at formation which I would therefore challenge the current cult of its leaders to use this solid foundation as a base in their quest to rebuild a strong, vibrant and programme driven ANC Youth League. I am in no way suggesting that the ANC Youth League must pledge it allegiance to the past but rather challenging it not to shy away from the real issues that have caused its structures to collapse and ultimately disbanded by the ANC.

The writer was quick to admit that the pop-culture that has infiltrated the structures of the ANC Youth League is purely driven by selfish personal ambitions. Sadly these political demagogues enjoy the support of the weak-willed and political bankrupt supporters. They have all lost the revelation of what it means to be a member and leader of the ANC Youth League. Some past leaders of the ANC Youth League have showed nothing other than a fine taste for good things, ranging from designer labels to Scotch whiskies and Cuban cigars.

I wish to plead with the general membership of the ANC Youth League not to fold their hands in despair when this noble organisation is being hijacked by certain forces whose mission is only to become political popstars! The relevance of the ANC Youth League can only be measured against its contribution towards helping the country march honourable with the rest of the world towards liberation of all mankind.

The relevance of the ANC Youth League, can only be measured once again by taking a firm stand against the quadruple challenges that have found homage in our land, corruption, unemployment, poverty and inequality. It thus can never claim any relevance when more than 50% of young South Africans between 15 and 24 are unemployed.

Our economy is so blessed with ills that seek to undermine the gains of our young democracy. It remains a dream whether the high levels of unemployment, ever-rising corruption and poverty levels and deeper income inequality levels will be adequately addressed and dealt with as mapped in the New Growth Path. We are longing for a united and programme driven ANC Youth League to lead us given the fact that recipients of this sad state of affairs unfortunately its young people.

I wish to call upon the membership of the ANC Youth League to take upon themselves the cause for determining the future of this country, the need to galvanise other young people to be part of the political transformed society and thus help inculcate the noble idea or desire in every member of the ANC Youth League to put the interest of the organisation and country before their own personal ambitions. That to me will be the greatest measure of its relevance as opposed to leading in chanting revolutionary songs and slogans.

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