President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the ANC Youth League to elect leadership like its former president Peter Mokaba when they go to an elective conference later this year.

Speaking at the 60th anniversary celebration of the league's former president Peter Mokaba at Cato Crest,west of Durban, Ramaphosa said young people in the country have been complaining that the ANCYL is found wanting on the ground.

“A lot of young people are saying [to] president Collen Maine, ‘we don’t feel the ANCYL, we don’t feel it providing leadership to the young people of our country’,” said Ramaphosa.

“They say, ‘what we often see are press statements sometimes attacking this one, sometimes responding to this one'.”

He looked over to outgoing ANCYL president Maine and said that young people want to see the ANCYL on the ground.

He urged members of the ANCYL to elect leadership that is resolute, vibrant and that protected the top leadership of the party.

The ANCYL has over the years been seen as having lost its relevance and revolutionary spirit under the leadership of Maine.

Ramaphosa took a swipe at the ANCYL and the South African Students Organisation (Sasco) and said both party structures have abandoned programmers at higher learning institutions.

“The ANCYL working with Sasco, we have not been seen working among the students, making sure that the congress ideology is embraced by our young people at our institutions of higher learning,” he said.

Ramaphosa also urged the Young Lions to be at the forefront of forging unity in the mother body, something which was rare to see under former president Jacob Zuma.

He said he wants to see the ANCYL being concerned at the divisions within the party.

“Where’s there’s disunity, where there’s factionalism, the ANCYL must move in and make sure that we get rid of factionalism and disunity,” urged Ramaphosa.

Those who attended the event included KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Sihle Zikalala, ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu, ANC national executive committee members Zweli Mkhize and Malusi Gigaba, ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula,  eThekwini regional chairperson Zandile Gumede and regional secretary Bheki Ntuli.

Earlier, Ramaphosa cancelled his visit to Ikhenani Lamanazaretga Asebuhleni, in Ndwedwe, north of Durban, due to bad weather conditions.

The leadership of the ANC is crisscrossing KwaZulu-Natal ahead of the party’s main January 8 celebrations and manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Saturday.