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Durban – ANC Youth League President Collen Maine says the party needs to be cleansed.
He was speaking at an ANCYL Economic Freedom Lecture at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban.
As soon as he started his address, he said, “It is our responsibility to cleanse the ANC… Everybody who wants to lead the ANC must do things, it can’t be a free for all next year.”
He went on to say that there were "protectors of capital in the ANC leadership, who have forgotten about the struggle and are living comfortably, being driven in nice German cars".
“For some of us, it is about ourselves, not about the people."
Maine said the biggest problem in the ANC was “the department called Treasury.”
“Because after 1994, because Nelson Mandela was in competition with the Holy Spirit, we accommodated someone and made them a Finance Minister. That person took all their people and put them in the finance department.
Then, addressing Zuma, who was present at the event, he said, “That is why President Zuma you were forced to last year, to reverse the appointment of a finance minister. I don’t really know why you bowed to that pressure.”
He would not elaborate further.
Maine was referring to the short-lived appointment of current Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des van Rooyen as Finance Minister. He was replaced after two days by Pravin Gordhan who had occupied the position in previous years.
He went on to say that in future, the media should not be invited to certain ANCYL events because ANC members could not express themselves freely then. He cautioned cadres to be careful about what they said during the event.
“Next time let us not invite them, because we want to raise important issues,” said Maine.
He also said anti-transformation was one of the biggest issues facing the country, he said.
