African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule on Tuesday announced that the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) had dissolved the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) NEC and appointed a National Youth Task Team to oversee the process of rebuilding the ANCYL.

The ANC NEC met between July 26 and 29.

Magashule stated that the National Youth Task Team would implement a programme of action, working with the Progressive Youth Alliance and other youth formations to organise a successful National Congress of the ANCYL by not later than January 31, 2020.

Magashule further went on to say the NEC held extensive discussions on strengthening the organisation, accelerating renewal and unity, and building collective leadership, so that the movement could became a more effective instrument for radical socioeconomic transformation.

“The NEC recognised that there is certain persistent behaviour, particularly at leadership levels, which undermines this programme. These include factionalism, untested and wild accusations, use of social media to attack each other and policy positions of the ANC, leaks to media and taking the organisation to court without first exhausting internal processes,” said Magashule.

In this regard, the NEC adopted the organisational Programme of Action, which had specific external and internal tasks for ANC branches. These included the need for branches to build a direct relationship with the people and regular contact through door-to-door work in all communities.

“They need to respond to local needs and work with government and civil society to address problems. Branches are expected to participate fully in democratic ANC elections and decision-making on policy. They need to recruit people who can contribute to the ANC’s mission, and deploy members to participate in community activities,” said Magashule.

Derek Hanekom

Meanwhile, the NEC confirmed that disciplinary processes needed to be implemented consistently, and that any leader or member who contravened ANC policies and protocols would face due process in line with the ANC constitution, stating that allegations against ANC NEC member Derek Hanekom was referred to officials for processing.

The NEC also noted that some opposition parties, owing to their “poverty of ideas and lack of clear programmes”, were attempting to set the agenda of the ANC.

“They do so through wild allegations and ‘stink bombs’, in order to try to distract us from our programme of transformation,” said Magashule.

However, he said that the ANC NEC vowed that it would not be diverted, and called on ANC members to remain vigilant so as to not allow opposition parties to aggravate divisions in the movement.

Ethical and Clean Governance

The NEC reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen ethical and clean government, and to fight corruption and State capture, noting the proceedings of the Zondo Commission. The ANC held its position that it would not give running commentary on evidence before the Commission.

However, it called on all its members to cooperate with the Commission, saying the ANC had and will at appropriate times make its own submissions to the Commission.

The NEC noted that the work of the Commission was still in progress and that the veracity of many of the allegations had still to be tested. It called on all South Africans to allow the Commission to conclude its processes and also called on law enforcement agencies to act as required in an urgent and fair manner.

The NEC reaffirmed its principled support for the Office of Public Protector, other Chapter 9 institutions and the judiciary but said it noted the various recent reports of the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane that were affecting some of its leaders.

Speeding up Radical Socioeconomic Transformation

With the announcement that the official unemployment rate had risen to 29%, the NEC stated that it noted with concern the poor performance of the economy, with continued job losses, and serious challenges in critical State-owned enterprises.

“This has a dire impact on poor households, the middle class, women and young people, who bear the brunt of structural unemployment, inequality and poverty,” said Magashule.

The NEC called on government to also consider other urgent measures to accelerate radical socioeconomic transformation, through inclusive growth and employment creation, involving all social partners.

“This includes prioritising the reimagined industrial strategy in identified priority sectors, micro and macroeconomic policy measures, tackling the monopolistic structure of the economy, land reform and agroprocessing, a carbon-efficient economy, fourth industrial revolution sectors, improving the ease of doing business and investments in infrastructure, township and rural economies,” the NEC suggested.

Land Reform

The NEC reaffirmed ANC resolutions on accelerated land reform and its commitment to a mix of State, communal and private ownership of land. The NEC welcomed the establishment of the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee tasked with the amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation, and urged the committee to complete its work by the end of this year.

The NEC welcomed the report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, which made comprehensive recommendations on the transformation of agriculture, rural and urban land reform, and spatial transformation. The NEC encouraged government to move swiftly towards the implementation of the panel’s recommendations.

It also noted that a key part of the stimulus package was support to over 250 000 small-scale and emerging farmers, and that this support must be implemented in a targeted, developmental and transparent manner.

“The NEC committed to put its shoulder to wheel in the spirit of Thuma Mina and Khawuleza to lead and focus, in order to ensure that we decisively and immediately tackle hunger; that we speed up economic development and growth; create employment for young people; improve education outcomes in the context of a skills revolution; and deal with gender-based violence and violent crime so we build safer communities,” concluded Magashule.