In a last-ditch effort to ensure that the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), which has been under interim leadership, finally holds its national elective conference by June, the national working committee (NWC) has roped in new blood "with no vested interest".

The ordinary sitting of the NWC that convened on Monday decided on MP Xola Nqola as the new convener and Deputy Minister in the Presidency Sonto Motaung as the new coordinator of the national youth task team (NYTT). 

National executive committee (NEC) members Nonceba Mhlauli and Joy Maimela, who were the convener and coordinator of the NYTT for almost two years to the day, will not get to deliver the structure to the conference. Mhlauli also serves on the NWC. 

Another parliamentarian, Collen Malatji, was brought in as deputy coordinator, and member of the Gauteng legislature, Fasiha Hassan, is the deputy convener. 

Thuthukile Zuma is the only member of the previous NYTT who retained her position as fundraiser. 

The 35-member NYTT was also expanded to 42 members plus the new top five, meaning that the total the structure will comprise 47 members.

The top five leadership will hit the ground running with a meeting scheduled for Wednesday at Little Tuscany Boutique Hotel in Bryanston, Johannesburg.

The purpose of the meeting is to introduce the new leadership and for the NYTT to forge ahead with attempts to take the youth league to its conference. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the ANC said the "NWC has decided that the NYTT needs to be reconfigured and augmented with individuals who can add impetus to the task of ensuring that a credible national conference of the youth league takes place within three months".

The changes were made despite reservations from members of the previous NYTT who questioned why the NWC decision had not been taken to the NEC for deliberation first.

At least two sources who attended the NWC meeting told News24 that the rationale behind the proposed wholesale changes was to "deal away with the stalemate in terms of taking the structure to a conference that had been caused by irreconcilable differences within the current leadership".

One NWC member said the structure took into consideration the "deep factional nature of the current leadership and its inability to work together in making the decision".

"Everyone has a vested interest. Mhlauli wants to be president, Maimela intends to be the secretary-general, while Sizophila Mkhize also wants to contest for the presidency.

"The NWC resolved that the leadership was, therefore, more driven by self-interest and not a desire to see the once formidable youth league revived. 

"It (the interim structure) has reached a point where its factional differences have rendered it non-functional. Only reconfiguring could bring about the necessary changes that would lead to the ANCYL again having a duly elected leadership," the NWC member said.

Another member of the NWC added the 20-member NWC, made up of the ANC's top seven officials and 13 NEC members, had settled on Nqola, 36, and Motaung, 37, "because, by virtue of being older than 35, they may not qualify to stand for any position in the youth league and, as such, may only preoccupy themselves with rebuilding the structure".

Nqola is a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, a member of the Constitutional Review Committee, and an alternate member of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation. 

He also sits on the Section 194 Committee that's looking into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's fitness to hold office.

Motaung was recently appointed Deputy Minister in the Presidency. She previously served on the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry and has been an influential leader in the Free State. 

The proposed top five are seen to have the pedigree and hold enough respect in the youth league structure because of their roles in the Fees Must Fall campaign and in youth league structures in recent years. 

Maimela took to Facebook, seemingly in acceptance of the decision.

She said "it has been two years since we were appointed as the collective ANC NYTT".

"Being elected or appointed to serve in any structure of the ANC or the ANCYL is a serious privilege. 

"We made strides, registered victories, made mistakes, differed, and took unpleasant decisions. All in all, we registered progress — 45 regions launched and five provinces. We will register our views on the reconfiguration in the NEC meeting of the ANC. But for now, I personally am grateful for the lessons learned," she said. 

Mhlauli also posted on Facebook, "Our NYTT has done a considerable amount of work under extremely difficult circumstances. I personally learned a great deal from the collective we worked with. Today we are better leaders and people ... We revived the youth activism on the ground, led campaigns locally and internationally, launched branches, regions and provinces."

She also wrote that the structure "fought a lot, plotted together and against each other".

Not all 35 members of the previous NYTT were replaced.

Those who made a comeback included Mkhize, Khulekani Skosana, Palomino Jama and Tlangi Mogale.

Another person older than 35 who is part of the NYTT is staunch Cyril Ramaphosa supporter, Bram Hanekom.