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The ANC Youth League notes the public utterances and pronouncements of some leaders of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu Natal by particularly the Provincial Chairperson Mthandeni Dlungawana and Deputy Secretary Sboniso Duma. These comrades have decided to venture into discussions, which the ANC said should not happen now due to their divisive potential and character if not managedappropriately. In their communication, the comrades raise false alarms and create confusion amongst members of the ANC YL in KwaZulu Natal for purposes not known to the leadership collective.

On Sunday, the 25th of September 2011, the National Officials and deployees to KwaZulu Natal requested a meeting with the leadership collective of the ANC YL in KZN, and not all members of the Provincial Executive Committee were in attendance, whilst majority of regional Chairpersons and Secretaries were in attendance. Regional leaders of the ANC Youth League expressed concern on the manner in which some of their leaderscommunicate contradictory and misleading messages on behalf of the ANC YL in KwaZulu Natal. Most of the issues communicated as resolutions of the ANC YLProvincial Congress of KZN are not resolutions of congress, but imaginations of certain leaders publicly communicated to cause confusion and saw divisions in the ANC YL.

The KZN ANC YL leaders who continue to speak in the media about the ANC Youth League ran away when the National leadership asked to engage with them, and chose to respond to issues though radio and newspapers’ interviews. When presented with an official platform to engage the nationalleadership on their concerns and speculations, the ANC YL KZN leaders gave excuses as a sign of cowardice. If they were convinced about their views, they would have had the courage to engage with national leadership.

The ANC YL assures all its members and supporters across the country and KwaZulu Natal that our organisation is intact and will never bedestabilised by agent provocateurs who opportunistically discuss successionpolitics of the ANC without mandate. The ANC YL is abiding by the ANC directive that the succession debate has not yet been opened, and will only discuss succession issues once the ANC has allowed all structures to do so. We are aware that other provinces and regions of the ANC YL enquired on whether the succession debate is open because of the pronouncements of ANC YL KZN leadership, and we would like to assure them that it is not yet open and appropriate process will ensue once it is opened.

In this regard, the ANC Youth League expects the leadership of the ANC to apply discipline consistently and act against members who violate the directives of the ANC on discussion of succession debate. The September2010 National General Council of the ANC said discipline should be consistently applied at all levels, not only when members speak against the preferences of the sitting leadership. If succession debate is open, it should be open to all provinces, not KwaZulu Natal only, because other provinces and members of the ANC should be granted an equal opportunity.

The ANC YL National leadership will exhaust all organisational process to ensure that the unitary character of the ANC Youth League is re-affirmed and will not be afraid to take decisions against un-organisational practices and tendencies manifesting themselves in KwaZulu Natal. In everything we do, we seek to protect the organisational and political integrity of the ANC Youth League and we will never be diverted. Our struggle for economic freedom in our lifetime remains our main focus and nothing will divert efforts towards total attainment of Freedom Charter objectives.