22 August 2010, 18:29
The ANC Youth League's mid-term policy gathering will take place this week, where its position on the nationalisation of the mines is expected to take centre stage.
The ANCYL National General Council will kick off on Tuesday at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, with around 3 000 delegates from the league's 2 600 branches, 53 regions and the nine provinces expected to attend.
ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe and ANCYL president Julius Malema are expected to address the NGC, as will the leadership of the World Federation of Democratic Youth.
ANCYL secretary general Vuyiswa Tulelo said the NGC was an opportunity for the league to assess its progress on the work done, the challenges it faced and an opportunity to present new policy proposals.
The league's policy on the nationalisation of mines is expected to be formalised, in order to take this position forward to be presented to the NGC of its mother body, the ANC, in Durban next month.
The league's reasons for nationalisation of the mines are contained in its discussion documents for the NGC. Its rationale includes nationalisation to increase the State's fiscal capacity and improve working conditions, nationalisation as a basis for industrialisation, as a means to safeguard sovereignty, and nationalisation to transform South Africa's unequal spatial development patterns.
It will also debate the character of the ANC and what the party's youth wing envisions for the ruling party when it turns 100 in 2012.
Further submissions on access to free education, youth development and employment and healthy lifestyles were also to be debated, Tulelo said.
Under healthy lifestyles, she said, the provision of free sanitary towels for women would be put forward.
"We want to raise the debate on free sanitary towels... condoms are free but using condoms are a choice. When you are a young woman, you don't choose to menstruate."
The ANCYL wants government to provide free sanitary towels to young women to prevent them from placing their health at risk by using newspapers and other unsanitary materials when they menstruate.
"The point is that if we are speaking about a society that works on gender parity, then that society should respond to these basic needs."
Tulelo said among the challenges the league has identified are the changing demographic of its membership.
Under the leadership of previous president, Fikile Mbalula, she explained, membership was largely drawn from the townships and rural areas. The league has since witnessed an influx of professionals into its ranks.
Another challenge for the league was the changing composition of the South African society, with many people coming from other African countries.
The league's constitution does not allow for membership of non-South African citizens. It also wants to look into helping ANCYL members who have relocated to other countries to participate in league processes happening at home.
Reports in the run-up to the ANCYL NGC have indicated that the gathering would be used by Malema to settle political scores with little substance or political content.
The league was recently rocked by divisions caused by jostling for positions at provincial level in the run-up to its national leadership race next year.
Malema was also hauled before an ANC disciplinary hearing in May and found guilty of undermining President Jacob Zuma.
He was ordered to pay a R10 000 fine, publicly apologise and attend political and anger management classes. - Sapa
The Star
Comments by Sonny
Malema, the political retread, should be taken off the road!!
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