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The ANC Youth League notes the news reports about the utterances of the ANC Youth League President in Thembelihle on Wednesday, the 19th of October 2011. In his address, the President emphasised the need for racial integration, particularly that because of proximity a predominantly Indian Lenasia and predominalty Africans Thembelihle, children should live together and go to the same schools. Speaking in vernacular, President Julius Malema said, “Bana ba lena ba tshwanetš e ba dumelelwe gore ba tsene sekolo le bana ba makula mona” and this was in no way meant to be offensive or derogatory.

The ANC Youth League understands and appreciates that some members of society could have received the message differently, yet the emphasis was about integrated human settlement and co-existence of Indian and African communities. The ANC YL will therefore not use the word “makula” to refer to South Africans of Indian origin because we appreciate and acknowledge that it is not an appropriate word. The ANC Youth League’s mobilisation programme for the Economic Freedom Youth Mass Action is going ahead in all communities, and will never be diverted by anything else. The ANC Youth League’s commitment to non-racialism is intact and will never be submerged by the utterances.