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Tshwane – Beleaguered ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leader Collen Maine says those who are critical of his style of leadership are confused by the different approaches to leading an organisation.
Speaking to News24 last week, just before renewed calls for him to step down as league president due to his age, he said he didn’t expect everyone to like him.
"We are leading in interesting times and its very difficult at times," said Maine.
READ: 'Maine belongs in an old age home' - ANCYL member calls for leader's removal
He added that at times one would see interesting developments in the ANCYL’s national executive committee (NEC).
"An NEC member can write an open letter to the leader of the organisation. The bigger question is, how you handle that situation, do you discipline or expel her?" he asked.
He added that he did not believe that this would be necessary.
Maine said the league was guided by rules and regulations, based on its constitution, rather than personal discretion.
'Malema a very loud president'
"Julius Malema was a very loud president, and then you’ve got Nkanyesi [Malusi Gigaba] who was not like Malema, so you cannot expect me to be like Malema and say there’s leadership."
Maine also said the league couldn’t help but feel the pressure that the ANC was under.
"We were elected in the most difficult times for the organisation," he said.
Maine added that since the ANCYL's leadership election, they had been on the defensive, because the ANC itself was ailing.
Plagued by challenges
The ANC was besieged with "challenges", and those challenges would obviously filter down into the leagues, he said.
Over the weekend, prominent North West ANCYL member Thabo "Arafat" Molamu called for Maine’s removal
Molamu says he had written a letter to ANCYL secretary general Njabulo Nzuza and the ANC's secretary general Gwede Mantashe, challenging Maine's age and that he was not fit to lead the youth league.
"In the letters, we said no one above the age of 35 is allowed to be a member and the leader of the youth league.... When he was elected, he claimed to be 34-years-old, only to find that he was 36-years-old. We have his details," Molamu said.
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