African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Collen Maine says he supports calls for former members to return to the party if it would make the ANC strong again.

"People who've left the ANC, we have the responsibility to lure them back to the movement, including people like Marius Fransman, those who went to Cope [Congress of the People], the Independent Democrats and those who went to the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters], including Julius Malema."

His comments come just days after Mpumalanga chairperson David Mabuza told the youth league in his province that he would bring back the former leader. Malema, now commander-in-chief of the EFF, was expelled from the ruling party in 2012.

He has gone on to become one of the ANC's biggest detractors, often calling for the party's president Jacob Zuma to step down.

"If it means lifting his suspension will strengthen the ANC let's do it because the ANC is at a crossroad," said Maine.

"We need to do anything to strengthen the organisation and it would require us to do certain things that ordinarily we would not do," he added.