- The ANC Youth League and Veterans League expressed strong support for President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- This comes amid speculation over internal moves to unseat Ramaphosa at the party’s national general council, which is expected to take place between 8-11 December in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.
- This comes after ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that the national general council should not be a place for leadership succession discussions.
The ANC’s leagues have strongly backed President Cyril Ramaphosa amid growing speculation on internal efforts to unseat him at the party’s upcoming national general council (NGC).
Over the weekend, the three leagues issued separate statements reaffirming their support for Ramaphosa’s leadership. While the Youth League dared apparent detractors to declare their intentions openly, the Veterans League cautioned against undemocratic practices aimed at destabilising the party.
At the same time, the Women’s League stated that it was “outraged” by allegations that some members of the national executive committee (NEC) are plotting to remove Ramaphosa. News24 reported two weeks ago that in his closing address at the last NEC meeting, Ramaphosa spoke out against those “plotting in dark corners” to have him step down as ANC president.
According to insiders who spoke to News24, at the time, Ramaphosa urged those who wanted him gone to confront him directly with a specific time and date. Without naming anyone, he referred to former ministers who are no longer serving in his Cabinet.
“The president’s statement was about former ministers who wanted him to resign; those were their people, very close to him, the likes of [Mondli] Gungubele and [Joe] Phaahla,” a source told News24 at the time.
In a strongly worded statement, Youth League’s secretary-general Mtuwoxolo Ngudle said the league noted with “disdain the continued attempts by faceless and spineless elements to distort the political environment of our movement.”
“We therefore reject with contempt the baseless claims that there are any plans to recall President Cyril Ramaphosa. These fabrications seek to weaken and derail the ANC precisely as we approach the 5th national general council, where the organisation will rigorously assess progress, refine our strategy and tactics, and develop solutions to confront the socio-economic challenges facing the nation,” he said.
Ngudle praised Ramaphosa’s tenure as the head of state, highlighting significant achievements, such as stabilising state-owned entities and hosting a successful G20 summit.
READ | Plotters vs power: ANC insiders reveal Ramaphosa’s ultimatum to disgruntled ex-ministers
He said the league saw the coordinated efforts as a desperate attempt to manufacture instability and sow divisions within the ANC.
The Youth League said it therefore, affirmed its “full, unambiguous and militant confidence in the leadership of President Ramaphosa”.
Ngudle added:
It is for this reason that the Youth League remains united behind President Ramaphosa. We will not allow detractors, gossipmongers, or shadowy wedge drivers to weaponise lies against the movement. To those who hide behind anonymous briefings and factional whisper campaigns about so-called “recalls,” come forward.
“Stop operating like the very wedge-drivers that president Oliver Tambo warned us against. The ANCYL stands ready to confront head-on, in defence of the ANC’s elected leadership and the historic mission of the National Democratic Revolution. Revolutionary battles are not fought through gossip; they are fought through principled engagement, organisational discipline and an unwavering commitment to truth,” he said.
Similarly, in his political report delivered on Saturday, Veterans League president Snuki Zikala rallied behind Ramaphosa while issuing stark warnings against those pushing for an undemocratic power shift.
He reiterated that the current NEC, elected in 2022, enjoyed full legitimacy and should not be challenged prematurely.
In his report, Zikalala also sang Ramaphosa’s praises for the good work he had done as the country’s president, and said that instead of those in his party celebrating the successes and achievements, they are “consumed with challenging his competency”.
READ | Ramaphosa will finish his term, NGC won’t focus on leadership shake-up – Mbalula
Zikalala warned against using the NGC as a forum to fight over succession. He said a time and place for that would come.
Zikalala echoed the view of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula that leadership succession should only be discussed during the next national conference in 2027 and that the upcoming NGC would not be a place for that.
“The NGC should also not be a test of the strength of different factions. It should be a place for us to take organisational renewal forward seriously,” said Zikalala.
He added:
We must remember that the NEC was duly elected in 2022. The results were not contested. We have no provisions for recalling or overthrowing a duly elected NEC. If we in the ANC do not have confidence in our leadership, how do we expect our people to have confidence in them? Such a call, 11 months before the local government elections, will lead to a certain defeat at the polls and a collapse of the ANC.
Zikalala added that the Veterans League (VL) must take a firm stand against the “dark forces” making calls to remove the ANC president, calling for a special conference, or the appointment of a national task team.
“Comrades, the path that the VL must tread is one of change, but change through democratic processes and using our constitutional structures. If we want to amend our ANC constitution and the VL believes we should, we should do so in terms of the constitution. Not in an undemocratic or unprocedural way,” he said.
In a statement on Sunday, following the Veterans League NEC, the league reaffirmed its support for Ramaphosa. It affirmed Zikalala’s words to fight against the “dark forces” that want to introduce foreign elements to the party.
Again, in another statement on Sunday, on behalf of the Women’s League, the league’s secretary-general, Nokuthula Nqaba, said the league had confidence in Ramaphosa as the president of the ANC, but also as the head of state.
ALSO READ | Mbalula slams Ramaphosa ‘ghost stories’, dismisses rumours of resignation
“The ANC Women’s League would like to caution against those who meet in dark corners and connive for the demise of the president, which is detrimental to the renewal of the ANC and clean governance which the president is advocating for.
“The cause of the national democratic revolution cannot be derailed any further by charlatans of doom who [go] around peddling lies through reactionary campaigns for their selfish endeavour to proceed with thievery at the expense of the poor masses of this country,” said Nqaba.
The Women’s League also said the upcoming NGC was purely for the ANC to review its performance, and that Ramaphosa would remain the president of the ANC beyond the NGC.
