Zama Khanyase named ANCYL spokesperson
She bagged 1291 votes (second-highest) as an additional member during the conference which led to her being part of the ANCYL national executive committee.
The South Coast’s, Zama Khanyase is the newly elected national spokesperson for the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).
Khanyase was named convener of the ANCYL communications office after the 26th ANCYL Conference held at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg recently.
Khanyase bagged 1291 votes (second-highest) as an additional member during the conference which led to her being part of the ANCYL national executive committee.
She is originally from Gamalakhe and works as a teacher at Olwandle High School in Gamalakhe. Her mother is Thuleleni Khanyase, a proportional representative (PR) councillor in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality.
Congratulating her daughter, Khanyase said she is happy to see Zama growing in her political career.
Khanyase explained that Zama being elected as an ANCYL NEC member came at the right time since she was not elected in the ANC Tolomane Mnyayiza Regional Conference, even after working hard to revive and build branches.
The PR councillor explained that it was delegates who supported Zama during her tenure as Congress of South African Students (COSAS) president, who supported her again during the recent ANCYL conference.
Khanyase said Zama started being active in politics while she was still in high school, saying that she loved it so much she joined the Congress of South African Students (COSAS).
“She revived COSAS here on the South Coast. She then moved to the provincial COSAS. After that they appointed her as the president of COSAS during President Jacob Zuma’s tenure. When she studied teaching at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, she joined SASCO. Zama also became the deputy chairperson in her branch, Micheal Nsimbi Branch for one term. When it was time to elect the Regional Task Team in the Tolomane Mnyayiza Region, she was elected as the coordinator,” she said.
She added that her daughter worked hard for the regional conference only for her to not be elected.
“She worked hard when it came to the regional conference. She sacrificed her car, she travelled from Umdoni, Umuziwabantu to Umzumbe just to build the youth league. Unfortunately for her, when it was time for the conference at the Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre, they did not elect her. What disappointed her the most was that everyone she worked with on the conference was elected and except her. It was a very difficult time for me as a parent and for her. We had to save her from stress and depression, I asked her to switch off her phone because everything was hurting her. She was contesting the ANCYL regional secretary position. I told her that she was still very young and that her time was coming. And her time has come, those who supported her during her COSAS days encouraged her to go to the national elective conference. They know her well that is why she had the second-highest votes in additional members. It was a cherry on top that she was named the ANCYL spokesperson,” said Khanyase, adding that Zama was not present when she was elected as she had to deliver her new-born son.
Khanyase said Zama being elected in her absence is evidence that the youth league believes that she is equal to the task.
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