ANCYL 'seniorship': youth league must be at forefront of 4IR

19 August 2019 - 17:17 By ZINGISA MVUMVU
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At the weekend meeting of the "seniorship", other than resolving that the ANCYL was needed to swell the ranks of government's implementation of 4IR, it acknowledged there was need to "revive, renew, rebuild and reimagine the ANCYL".
At the weekend meeting of the "seniorship", other than resolving that the ANCYL was needed to swell the ranks of government's implementation of 4IR, it acknowledged there was need to "revive, renew, rebuild and reimagine the ANCYL".
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The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) national task team, dubbed the "seniorship", resolved at its strategic planning workshop at the weekend that the youth league must be at the forefront of the implementation of the much talked about fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

This came after the task team met for the second time since the ANC's highest decision-making body between conferences, the national executive committee (NEC), resolved to disband the Collen Maine-led ANCYL and install a task team to take the league to conference.

 The move followed a call by a group of ANCYL ordinary members who had come to be known as "the disbandists" for insisting that the Maine-led league was dead in the water, and thus needed to be dissolved.

Instead of a task team comprised of people within the 14-35 age limit for ANCYL membership, the disbandists got elders well above 35. Some were pushing 50 years of age, which led to the "seniorship" moniker.

At the weekend meeting of the "seniorship", other than resolving that the ANCYL was needed to swell the ranks of government's implementation of 4IR, it acknowledged there was need to "revive, renew, rebuild and reimagine the ANCYL".

In a statement on Monday, the task team said: "The ANCYL must renew its commitment to the youth of South Africa, and that can only be done through the renewal of all of its structures to ensure they reflect the spirit of the constitution of the ANCYL.

"It is imperative that the  league and its role in the South African body politic are reimagined. The meeting reiterated the clarion call that young people must be at the forefront of reimagining the ANCYL and assist the task team to execute its mandate."

Among other inputs emerging from the weekend workshop were:

  • Rebuilding the ANCYL is an urgent strategic priority for the ANC itself. Success in this regard ensures not only the resonance of ANC views among the youth but, above everything else, it guarantees the ANC its future;
  • Reimagining the league in a post-apartheid society, in a manner which enables the league to fulfil its historical mission, as captured in the 1944 manifesto, and possibly redefine its mission for future generations;
  • The existing membership of the ANCYL will be allowed to play a meaningful role in the revival of the league;
  • The rebuilding of the league is not limited to league members only but should also incorporate the state of the Progressive Youth Alliance (Sasco and Young Communist League) as a whole;
  • The ANCYL should take centre stage with regards to the implementation of the 4IR.
  • Ensure that gate-keeping in the organisation is negated by the introduction of the new online membership system;
  • Commence provincial visits by September 1 to asses the state of the organisation;
  • Ensure the courts rescind the liquidation order granted against the ANCYL in a period of a month; and
  • The task team will be supporting the Progressive Youth Alliance in the upcoming student representative council elections across campuses.

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