ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Nigel Sibanda Questions have been raised about whether the emergence of Collen Malatji as the president of the ANC Youth Legue could be a sign that Fikile Mbalula’s supposed ambitions to become ANC president in 2027 are being reinforced. Mbalula himself has not confirmed that he would like to lead the party after president Cyril Ramaphosa steps down.
However, talks in and outside the ANC indicate that he is eyeing this position. EFF leader Julius Malema also hinted to the media last week that Mbalula is mobilising his ascendancy to the ANC presidency behind the scenes. On Tuesday morning Malatji who is seen as a close ally to the secretary general of the ANC was elected unopposed for ANCYL president.
The youth league has historically played a significant role in ANC succession battles. The Citizenspoke to Ntsikelelo Breakfast a political analyst from the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) about this development. He believes Malatji’s emergence is one point in the bag for Mbalula’s campaign.
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“We cannot rule out that the emergence of the incumbent means Mbalula has the upper hand,” he said. Breakfast said the youth league is not as influential as it was in the past. He said it was able to influence the mother body and become leaders of the National Democratic Revolution in its own right.
But, he said, this culture has changed and that the ANCYL now appears to be more tamed by the mother body. “You can see even he (Malatjie) does not contradict Mbalula much in public,” he said.
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