African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma opened the ruling party's national general council (NGC) in Durban on Monday with criticism of its youth league.

"We have noted some regrettable incidents, particularly relating to the ANC Youth League conference, which are unacceptable and need to be dealt with," Zuma said.

He said that after the NGC, the leadership would work with the league "intensively" to deal with these organisational problems and to strengthen the it so it can perform its role as the grooming school for future ANC leadership.

Zuma called for the reintroduction of "revolutionary discipline" in the ANC to strengthen the fibre and existence of the party.

He said that this was necessary to deal with "all sorts of opportunistic tendencies".

"In the passage of time, all liberation movements face such a test and had to deal with all sorts of opportunistic tendencies."

An organisation that failed to deal with such tendencies and tests would vanish.

He said that the leagues in the ANC were subject to party discipline.

"The ANC is not in alliance with its own leagues. Nor are the leagues alliance partners with the ANC."

The ANC has a youth league, women's league and a veterans' league.

The youth league has been the most vocal. During Zuma's corruption and rape cases, the youth league was at the forefront of support for him, pushing the theory that he was being hounded by the former Scorpions.

At the watershed policy and leadership conference in Polokwane in 2007, it was predominantly the youth league that booed Zuma's predecessor Thabo Mbeki, who was subsequently ousted.

Since then youth league president Julius Malema had been speaking out on policies such as nationalisation of mines, and made a statement in support of monogamy, which some interpreted as a criticism of Zuma's polygamous marital choice.