The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the Eastern Cape has called for unity of its members and young people in the province as part of the revival and renewal of the ANCYL in the province.

The Provincial Congress Preparatory Committee (PCPC) of the ANCYL in the Eastern Cape held its special meeting on Sunday, with the aim to receive an update from the National Youth Task Team (NYTT) on preparations for the ANCYL Eastern Cape Provincial Congress.

ANCYL Eastern Cape spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi stressed that the PCPC strongly condemns reported intimidation of ANCYL members, allegedly by ANC and ANCYL leaders.

“The levels of unemployment and poverty in the province, particularly within the youth, cannot be used to intimidate members to agree on certain leadership preferences. The PCPC further cautions against the use of organisational resolutions as identities of leadership preferences and factions. We have made a large amount of progress in the efforts of rebuilding structures of the Youth League in the province, which had led to six out of eight regions successfully convening their Regional Congresses and the only way we are going should be forward and not withheld by members who use abuse of power,” Godlimpi said.

The PCPC also acknowledged the dissolution of the Regional Executive Committees (REC) in Amathole and Joe Gqabi regions and the respective appointments of the Regional Congress Preparatory Committees (RCPCs) confirmed by the NYTT Coordinator in a letter addressed to ANC and ANCYL structures in the province.

“To ensure that the two regions urgently convene their Regional Congresses, the PCPC reinforced the deployment of PCPC members to the region with the Provincial Convenor and Coordinator," Godlimpi said.

Some of the REC officials in Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo regions were also reportedly suspended, which was done in contravention of the ANCYL constitution.

Godlimpi said that the PCPC reaffirmed the steps taken by the PCPC officials in directing both structures to refrain from such conduct which borders on the abuse of organisational instruments to undermine the democratic processes of the ANCYL.

“The PCPC has thus directed PCPC members deployed to the regions to urgently meet with the RECs and address this going concern with the intention of ensuring stability. As a result of the on-going impasse and stand-off within the two RECs, the PCPC resolved to reinforce the deployments to the regions and ensure that the PCPC oversees the [branch general meetings] towards the Provincial and National Congresses, amongst other critical organisational processes,” he said.

Therefore, the PCPC has deployed convenors to reinforce the regions.