ANCYL needs stop selling its soul to the elders and fulfil its mandate to survive

Many are wondering if this is the rebirth or the final straw of survival for the youth wing of the ruling party.

This seems to be the big question after the 26th national congress of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) at the weekend in Nasrec.

Since its inception in 1944, the ANCYL has been a vocal force in ANC politics and was the lifeline of the liberation movement.

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Because of the ANCYL, the ANC in 1949 was able to adopt a radical programme of action that confronted the fire of apartheid with fire.

From its days of presidents ranging from Anton Lembede, Peter Mokaba, Malusi Gigaba, Fikile Mbalula to Julius Malema, the ANCYL has had glorious moments.

It has been the voice of the young people and has been relevant to them.

These were the proud moments of the youth league. When truth to power meant just that.

But unfortunately, when the ANCYL in 2011 adopted the resolutions that declared “economic freedom in our lifetime” as the ANCYL’s mission, it ceased to punch above its weight because certain characters in the ANC were starting to feel threatened by this boldness.

Due to this, ANC elders unashamedly used their power to silence the young lions – a term used for those who are members of the ANCYL.

They engaged in nefarious agendas that aimed to destabilise the youth league in an attempt to swerve it away from setting a new tone of economic emancipation that even today is a threat to those who benefit from an economy that lacks transformation.

This has then led the ANCYL to degenerate into nothing but a puppet for the ANC leaders who just want to use it as a voting pool to advance their selfish interests.

In return, those in the ANCYL who couldn’t stand up for what is right were apparently rewarded with brown envelopes and positions of power.

The perfect example is the appointment of Collen Maine as president of the ANCYL in 2015.

He did absolutely nothing, but keep the league in limbo.

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Ultimately, with all this happening, the ANCYL found itself leaderless and failed to fulfil its duty, clearly signalling that it has betrayed its mission instead of fulfilling it.

The once vibrant youth structure lost its touch within South African politics and stopped resonating well with the youth.

Because after Malema, then president of the ANCYL, was expelled from the ANC, he formed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) based on the ideas of the 24th national congress of the ANCYL and further paralysed the ANC’s youth structure.

But not all is lost. The face of society and politics is getting younger.

This is a clear sign that the ANCYL now has another chance to make history.

Therefore, it should take advantage of this opportunity and unapologetically reclaim what the EFF has made its own.

If the ANCYL is serious about surviving and revival, it has to focus on rallying the youth behind the banner of the ANC and championing the interests of the youth.

It has to be in the forefront of fighting drugs and demanding free, fair and quality education for all.

The ANCYL should be preoccupied with mobilising the youth to vote and charting solutions to the scourge of youth unemployment instead of entertaining ANC factional battles.

With the election of Malatji as president of the ANCYL, the league should be a body of independent thought.

It should stop selling its soul to the elders in the movement. It should be a nuisance to the ANC and never allow it to slumber in government.

The youth of this country needs to have their voices heard and only the league can be the voice of the voiceless youth.

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In the words of Frantz Fanon: “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it.”

Now is the time for the ANCYL to make a decision to fulfil its mission, and in so doing, it will secure its own survival.

The issue of stomach politics should come to an end. For what is important now is economic freedom and social change.

Young people are tired of rhetoric and demand fundamental change in their lives.

Thabiso Mthembu is an independent commentator