While delegates to the 26th ANCYL elective conference were still finalising their registration ahead of the conference which remained uncertain hours into the first day of the conference on Friday, axed ANC Youth League (ANCYL) task team convener Xola Nqola wrote a letter to the ANC leadership following his removal as convenor of the youth structure.
Delays to the start of the conference have resulted in uncertainty and fears of the conference facing a possible collapse after some regions complained that the conference was tainted while other delegates are not legitimate participants.
This has been compounded by Nqola’s removal and alleged interference by the mother body after ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula removed Nqola as the youth league’s convenor on Thursday evening.
However, on Friday morning the axed convenor subsequently sought the intervention of the leadership of the ruling party to challenge his axing.
On Thursday Mbalula accused Nqola of having gone against party instructions after he (Nqola) allegedly convened and presided over the Eastern Cape youth league conference early in the week.
“We hereby inform you that your membership of the ANCYL NYTT, and, by extension, your position as its convenor, are terminated with immediate effect,” he said.
Nqola’s removal comes after he allegedly convened and presided over the league’s conference at Komani, Eastern Cape without approval from the party’s leadership.
It is believed that Nqola misled the National Youth Task Team (NYTT) that the office of the secretary-general gave the go ahead for that conference.
In his letter to the ANC top brass, it is reported that Nqola has alleged incidents of political manipulation, interference and total disregard of processes by Mbalula and other ANC NEC members in the run-up to the 26th youth league national conference.
Nqola has asked the ANC national officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, to intervene and stop Mbalula, his ally and head of organising, Mduduzi Manana, and others from meddling with the running of the youth league.
Nqola’s sentiments in alleged Mbalula interference were on Friday morning shared by another former Youth league Task Team member Rebone Tau who accused Mbalula of destroying the youth league.
Young people should condemn what the Secretary General of the ANC is doing, he has been at the centre of the downfall of the ANCYL since 2008. The ANCYL is dead because of him. He needs to let young people to contest.”
“If Mbalula and crew want to continue leading the YL, it best that there is a constitutional amendment of the YL and take the age up to 65 years. So they can elect him as their president,” Tau said in an interview on SA FM on Friday morning.