The African National Congress Youth League's (ANCYL's) behaviour does often not match the ruling party's approach to matters, African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.

"Our own youth league decided to be henchmen who get unleashed on individual comrades," he told the National Union of Mineworkers' (Num's) central committee meeting in Irene.

Mantashe said that removing President Jacob Zuma would not solve the ANC's problems. It would tear the movement apart. History would show the party was right in keeping him in his job, he said.

With Mantashe in the room, Num reiterated calls by Cosatu-affiliated unions for ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed Zuma at the ANC's elective conference in December.

Mantashe joked that if Num was part of the ANC, he would discipline it for such remarks. He felt the party's alliance partners had no trust in the ANC's methods.

"This process needs capacity and patience to engage others," he said of the ANC's succession debate.

The Youth League did not "fit the approach of the ANC". It was not playing its rightful role and was going after enemies that did not exist.

"I think they've been told their project is Ramaphosa and Pravin [Gordhan]. Those are not their enemies. They are not enemies of the revolution."

When Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema was ANCYL leader, he too used to go after some ANC leaders, Mantashe said.

"They are doing what the ANCYL did to president [Thabo] Mbeki. They did that to me many times, to comrade Kgalema [Motlanthe]. It becomes their trademark to become henchmen unleashed on individual cadres of our movement."