Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal ANC youth league elective conference to elect new leadership will take place on Sunday at the Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre in Port Shepstone.
Close to 1 500 delegates from 11 regions will participate in the conference starting from Thursday. The ANCYL provincial task team convener, Mqondisi Duma, who is from Umzimkhulu in Harry Gwala, will be contesting a secretarial position.
Current Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Head of Ministry in the province Lindokuhle Xulu will be vying for the treasurer position. Both men confirmed their availability for the positions.
Duma is expected to be contested by the provincial task team co-ordinator, Zama Zondi, from Musa Dladla region, which includes Empangeni, Nkandla, Eshowe, Melmoth and Richards Bay.
Duma is said to have an edge since he was backed by his powerful region of Harry Gwala and eight others. Duma’s faction had earmarked Qiniso Mnguni, who had to withdraw because he had taken the position of ANC Harry Gwala regional secretary.
The secretary position was vacated after Zenzele Msomi, who was elected to the position in last year’s conference, left to work in the legislature.
Mnguni was elected Msomi’s deputy but before that he was re-elected as regional youth league secretary. The ANC regional youth league secretary position is full-time, so he had to focus on it and withdraw his candidacy in the youth league conference.
Duma is a product of ANC student politics, having served as SA Students Congress leader at the university and in its provincial structure outside after graduating from varsity life.
Attempts to find Zondi and her faction were unsuccessful, but in her faction she was said to be with Zama Mncube, who was said to be eyeing the chairperson position.
The conference was supposed to have taken place last weekend but was again postponed after the newly elected national youth league leadership disbanded the old provincial task team which was organising it. The task team was led by Mafika Mndebele as the co-ordinator. Mndebele is currently a spokesperson for the ANC in the province.
It was also postponed in December last year due to infighting which forced police to form a wall between the factions who were arguing over the registration of delegates.
Bringing forward the conference appeared to have been influenced by the emergence of the Lower South Coast region as one of the biggest strongholds of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
The region, which was named after its late chairperson and Ugu district municipality mayor Tolomane Mnyayiza, borders Harry Gwala and both saved the ANC from humiliation after its poor showing in the 2021 local government elections.
The regions were the only ones that controlled all local municipalities after the 2021 local elections. The regions were also instrumental in electing Bheki Mtolo and Siboniso Duma as both secretary and chairperson respectively. Mtolo hails from Kokstad under Harry Gwala, while Duma comes from Umzumbe under Lower South Coast. Both leaders are products of the ANC’s student politics.
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