VRYBURG, North West — The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the North West has raised serious alarms over alleged widespread irregularities and manipulation in the ANC councillor candidate selection process within the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District. Battle lines have been firmly drawn between the regional Youth League and the party’s interim regional leadership over the integrity of the selection procedures.
Addressing the media in Vryburg, the Youth League accused the regional ANC structures of disregarding the party’s Constitution and established guidelines. The league contends that the ANC regional task team is rushing the selection processes and flouting critical rules, resulting in a complete breakdown of the working relationship between the youth wing and the mother body’s regional task team.
According to the ANCYL, these challenges confronting the candidate selection process are not isolated to a single branch or municipality. The league highlighted that all 16 branches across four local municipalities in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region have been affected by rulings, directives, or interventions stemming from processes before the Provincial Dispute Resolution Committee (PDRC) and the Provincial Leadership Committee (PLC).
The Youth League noted a concerning pattern where dispute outcomes remain outstanding until the final stages of the candidate selection program. They argue that the ANC in the region is marred by deep dysfunction, which has severely hamstrung the party team’s ability to operate effectively.
“There’s no order in this region,” the league stated, calling on the broader ANC leadership to step in and maintain order.
Issuing a stark warning, the ANCYL stated that if the party leadership continues to drive the league and young people away, they will refuse to campaign for the ANC. The league threatened to withdraw all of its volunteers across all voting districts in the region if the matter is not urgently addressed, demanding immediate intervention from both provincial and national party structures.
In response, ANC provincial secretary Louis Diremelo addressed the allegations, stating that based on information received from the regional structure, there was no wrongdoing on their part. Diremelo noted that the matter was referred back to the region, and the regional leadership has denied the allegations, maintaining that their actions have been above board.
However, Diremelo acknowledged that the provincial office did receive a number of disputes referred to the PDRC. He emphasized the party’s commitment to a clean and credible candidate selection process, stating that the provincial leadership will investigate the issues once the Youth League provides a proper report and supporting evidence.
“We are intending to have a clean and a credible process in terms of selections of candidates,” Diremelo affirmed. “Therefore, we will investigate.”
