Blow to Kumbaca's ANCYL ambitions
EASTERN Cape ANC Youth League task team convener Ncedo Kumbaca's ambition to lead the organisation in the province suffered a major blow over the weekend.
Delegates at an Alfred Nzo regional conference recommended Kumbaca's rival Nathi Nqoko as chairman.
The conference held in Kokstad also recommended ANCYL co-coordinator Butsha Lali as provincial secretary.
There is a three-man race on the go for the province's chairman position – Kumbaca, Nqoko and the SACP's spokesman, Siya Mdodi. Newly elected regional secretary Happy Ngqasa said the more than 140 delegates unanimously agreed to support Nqoko.
"This is the leadership the conference agreed upon to lead our province. We are going to lobby other regions to support our stance," Ngqasa said.
He also revealed that the region supported ANCYL national task team convener Magasela Mzobe as the league's national president and the Eastern Cape's – and former Sasco president – Mawethu Rune as secretary-general.
Mzobe has emerged as the early front-runner for the position which will be announced at the league's national conference in September.
He also has the support of KwaZulu-Natal's eThekwini region.
Lali said the next regional conferences to follow were OR Tambo and Nelson Mandela Bay.
With just a month to go before the league holds its provincial conference, two of its eight regions have not completed branch and membership audits.
In terms of the organisation's constitution it needs 70% of its 500 branches in the Eastern Cape to be fully functioning to go to the provincial elective congress proposed for August 29 to 31.
Lali said the provincial task team, assisted by the national task team, had completed auditing branches in six of the eight regions.
So far Buffalo City, OR Tambo, Nelson Mandela Bay, Sarah Baartman and Joe Gqabi were completed while the Amathole and Chris Hani regions will have their branch audits this coming weekend.
New leaders will be elected at the conference after the league's provincial executive led by chairman Ayanda Matiti was disbanded last year by the national task team.
Lali said: "We are happy with the outcome of the Alfred Nzo conference and the progress in rebuilding a united youth league in the province." - Mphumzi Zuzile
