ANCYL bemoans media reports

2012-04-12 14:17

Johannesburg - The ANC Youth League bemoaned reports on Thursday about the outcomes of its national working committee (NWC) meeting held earlier this week.

"What is apparent from the reports... is that some bitter individual who lost debates in the NWC misled newspaper journalists on what the outcomes of the NWC were," ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said in a statement.

"It is now getting clearer to the ANCYL on who is interacting with the media as a faceless source [sic]."

He said this was because the reports reflected the arguments of an individual who lost all the debates at the meeting on Tuesday.

Latest suspension

The Times and Sowetan newspapers on Thursday quoted unnamed sources, saying that some NWC members raised concerns that they had endorsed suspended ANCYL leader Julius Malema's presidency until 2014.

This was before the recent suspension and therefore the national executive committee had to ratify the decision.

According to the reports, other leaders who supported Malema wanted the NWC to pronounce their support for him but they were defeated, and the matter was referred to the NEC meeting which would be held on Sunday.

The ANC's national disciplinary committee suspended Malema for calling Zuma a dictator. This was a temporary immediate suspension.

‘Publically exposing the mole’

The conditions of the suspension prohibit him from exercising any duty as an ANC member, president of the ANCYL or member of the Limpopo provincial executive committee.

Shivambu on Thursday said the ANCYL would "publicly expose the mole" who had given the information to the newspapers.

The league would publicly announce the outcomes of its NWC meeting on Monday April 16, after its NEC meeting.

"Any information communicated via the media before that time will be misleading and should be treated with contempt and disdain," said Shivambu.

- SAPA