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Johannesburg - The ANC Youth League's elective congress due to have started on Wednesday has been converted into a consultative conference, with the elective phase planned for 2015, task team co-ordinator Magasela Mzobe said on Tuesday.
"Having appreciated the gravity of challenges... and after extensive consultation with the leadership of the ANC it has been resolved that this week's national congress of the ANCYL will be converted into a consultative national congress," he told reporters in Johannesburg.
It is the second postponement of the election of new leadership after the elective congress was originally scheduled for 24 to 28 September.
Mzobe said this week's consultative forum would deal only with political, organisational, and functional reports, and would have commissions dealing with policy documents.
A conference at which new African National Congress Youth League leaders would be elected would be held early next year, Mzobe said.
Concentrating more on policy
Speaking during a media briefing televised live on eNCA, he said: "It became very obvious in our discussions that the state of preparedness of delegates coming to discuss their policy positions... might have not been enough or qualitative."
Converting the elective congress to a consultative one meant ANCYL delegates could concentrate more on policy and rebuilding the league, instead of worrying about electing leaders.
It was supposed to have been held from 25 to 29 November at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto Campus.
The national task team (NTT) was put in place last year after the ANC disbanded the ANCYL's national executive committee.
This was after prolonged disagreements between its former president Julius Malema and youth league officials.
Malema and his spokesperson Floyd Shivambu went on to form the Economic Freedom Fighters when Malema was expelled from the ANC, and Shivambu, who was on suspension, was expelled from the league.
Task team not dissolved
The task team was appointed to pick up the pieces of the 70-year-old youth league.
ANCYL spokesperson Bandile Masuku said later by telephone the task team would handle the conference and present a report, and it would be dissolved.
It was not true that the task team had already been dissolved, he said.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said that at the consultative phase of the conference, delegates could decide whether or not to dissolve the task team, but he also said it had not yet been dissolved.
Last year the ANC said the task team would lead an interim committee until a Youth League conference was convened.
Masuku said a report emanating from the first phase of the conference would provide information such as that six provinces had held elective conferences, as well as any problems and challenges.
"You need all the structures ready and tied up in a correct way," he said.
On 10 November, the league in the Eastern Cape said it had held a "chaotic" elective conference, with allegations of people even being injured.
Newly elected provincial secretary Ndumiso Sepepa complained about the way the NTT had handled that conference.
Masuku said at the time the problems were caused by people who did not get enough votes for a seat.
He said on Tuesday he did not think there would be problems among delegates registering on Tuesday in the expectation of an election.
He dismissed rumours that delaying the elective phase was to exclude former ANC Youth League treasurer Pule Mabe from the running as league president. Mabe turns 35 next year, the cut off age for league membership.
Mzobe was one of the nominees for the position of ANCYL president. Besides Mabe, others included former deputy president Ronald Lamola.
Official nominations for the leadership positions take place at provincial general councils.
