He said the league would use its voice, which has more authority now that there’s an elected leadership, to influence ANC policies. As ANCYL president, he will sit on the party’s national executive (NEC) and national working committees. The league’s secretary-general Mntuwoxolo Ngudle will sit on the NEC.
“Our role there is to influence these structures on youth positions. The policy positions of the ANC must reflect our influence.
“It can’t be that over 70% of unemployed people in this country are young people and you expect they are going to vote for the ANC again. They’ve given us 29 years to lead them, now they want action. They no longer want excuses,” said Malatji.
The first leg of the ANCYL conference was concluded on Sunday. The second leg, where they are expected to conclude on policy positions and adopt resolutions in hybrid sessions from venues across the country, has not been scheduled.
At the centre of those discussions, the league wants the restructuring of the economy to benefit the majority.
“That is the spirit that we are organising ourselves on. We want to be known as the leadership that was able to address that fundamental issue,” Malatji said.
Ngudle explained the league’s key propositions in its discussion documents are inspired by the story of the Asian Tigers – the high-growth economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
The four economies are fuelled by exports and rapid industrialisation.
“Millions of their people were in poverty and underdeveloped like SA. But they managed, through their macroeconomic strategy, to deal decisively with poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment.
“That’s what we are proposing to the ANC. We are saying one of the key elements is the black poor problem. It’s the black poor problem because the SA economic structure suggests that ownership of the means of production and ownership of the economy is in the hands of few South Africans, who are mainly white.”
- TimesLIVE
ANCYL wants 50% of parliament positions
'They want youth to play key role in SA economy'
Image: Freddy Mavunda
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has vowed to put young people at the forefront of the South African agenda, from parliament to playing a key role in the economy.
“We are not going to accept anything less than 50% of young people in parliament. Parliament is not a retirement village,” declared the league’s president Collen Malatji on Monday.
“The 50% of the old people that will remain, we will use them for wisdom, but we don’t need 80% of them in parliament.”
Malatji said it was important that the majority of decisionmakers and those planning for the future are young people, people who will be there to account in the future.
“Agenda 2050 was planned by somebody who is 70 years [old] and who will not be there to account for those issues. We need to take responsibility for our own future,” he said.
“This leadership is not apologetic about that. Everything that has to do with power in this country, young people are going to be at the forefront of driving that agenda. We will be their voice to make sure we represent their interests.”
Malatji and the league’s newly-elected leadership were addressing journalists for the first time since their election at the weekend.
He said the league would use its voice, which has more authority now that there’s an elected leadership, to influence ANC policies. As ANCYL president, he will sit on the party’s national executive (NEC) and national working committees. The league’s secretary-general Mntuwoxolo Ngudle will sit on the NEC.
“Our role there is to influence these structures on youth positions. The policy positions of the ANC must reflect our influence.
“It can’t be that over 70% of unemployed people in this country are young people and you expect they are going to vote for the ANC again. They’ve given us 29 years to lead them, now they want action. They no longer want excuses,” said Malatji.
The first leg of the ANCYL conference was concluded on Sunday. The second leg, where they are expected to conclude on policy positions and adopt resolutions in hybrid sessions from venues across the country, has not been scheduled.
At the centre of those discussions, the league wants the restructuring of the economy to benefit the majority.
“That is the spirit that we are organising ourselves on. We want to be known as the leadership that was able to address that fundamental issue,” Malatji said.
Ngudle explained the league’s key propositions in its discussion documents are inspired by the story of the Asian Tigers – the high-growth economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
The four economies are fuelled by exports and rapid industrialisation.
“Millions of their people were in poverty and underdeveloped like SA. But they managed, through their macroeconomic strategy, to deal decisively with poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment.
“That’s what we are proposing to the ANC. We are saying one of the key elements is the black poor problem. It’s the black poor problem because the SA economic structure suggests that ownership of the means of production and ownership of the economy is in the hands of few South Africans, who are mainly white.”
- TimesLIVE
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