Maine nominated as ANCYL presidential candidate

Johannesburg - The North West ANC Youth League has nominated provincial chairperson Collen Maine as its presidential candidate for the upcoming national congress, it said on Monday.

Maine was nominated unopposed during the provincial league's general council in Mahikeng over the weekend, it said in a statement.

"Other names nominated unopposed for other top positions of the league include Desmond Moela from Mpumalanga for the deputy president position; Njabula Nzuza from KwaZulu-Natal for secretary-general and Thandi Moraka from Limpopo for deputy secretary-general." 

The North West did not nominate anyone for the treasurer-general position.

At the Mahikeng meeting, Maine said the culture of youth league members being bought must come to an end.

"Leaders of the ANC, especially those who were removed from the state offices, must not want to influence the outcomes of the league by influencing and buying members to vote in a certain way," he said. 

The league's long-awaited 25th national congress will be held from Friday to Sunday at Gallagher Estate in Midrand.

The ANCYL's leadership structures were disbanded in 2013 and replaced with a national task team and provincial task teams.

The congress was meant to be held last year December, but at the last minute was converted into a consultative congress. This upset some ANCYL members who were ready to elect new leaders.

The race to become the league's president has been marred by claims of irregular auditing processes and allegations of interference from top structures within the ruling party.

An ANC official has been accused of working hand-in-hand with a so-called "premier league" on the auditing of branches to ensure the delegates who get selected to attend the elective conference will vote for the its preferred candidates. 

The "premier league" is said to include North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza and Free State Premier Ace Magashule.

It is understood it wants Maine to lead the league. This is linked to 2017 when the ANC elects a successor to President Jacob Zuma.