We were discussing the recent ANC Youth League court case at our regular Monday morning diary meeting when one of our staff members asked, “What does the ANCYL actually do?”
We were discussing the recent ANC Youth League court case at our regular Monday morning diary meeting when one of our staff members asked, “What does the ANCYL actually do?”
Most of the comments that followed tended to be quite sarcastic and witty, but not very insightful. At the end of the discussion no one had a clear idea of how the ANCYL actually went about its daily activities.
We then made a concerted effort to find out what is the business of the ANCYL, but we wanted to do so without reference to the organisation’s controversial leader or the recent court dispute preventing the national office from dissolving the provincial committee.
In other words we tried to make it as unemotional as possible – a challenge of no mean proportions because the ANCYL has been a major headline hog in recent months.
After speaking to various people, including ANCYL Cacadu Regional Chairperson, Mthuthuzeli Matyumza, we were able to deduce that the ANCYL is a type of political cadet school where young leaders can learn the ways of the ANC and so therefore become fully fledged cadres of the ruling party when they are old enough.
The ANCYL actively recruits members who are then transformed into politicians in training. It is indeed true that many of the current ANC leaders rose to prominence by moving up the ranks of the ANCYL.
Some people we spoke to found it disconcerting that the Youth League includes a number of people who appear to be well over 30 years old.
It was even more troubling to find how many people were reluctant to speak to us at all because they fear the Youth League.
Matyumza assured us that there is absolutely no reason to fear them but we have to wonder why so many people either do not know anything, or claim not to know anything about an organisation that is clearly so influential and powerful.
After all the ANCYL had a pivotal role in unceremoniously throwing out our last President and installing a new one. Now, what does the ANCYL really do?
