The ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) Collen Malatji blames former President Jacob Zuma for “weakening” the party and a decline in voters.
Taking a swipe at the former state president, Zuma said “the first mistake we made, we gave a Grade 2 dropout a country to lead for 10 years.”
He stressed that young people must now apologise to the citizens for “Zuma’s failures” to address the issues facing the county when they do door-to-door campaigns.
Malatji addressed the ANC Youth League, Peter Mokaba Volunteers Rally at the Alexandra Stadium in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg.
The rally was aimed at addressing the issues facing the youth. It is also part of the ruling party’s election campaign ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections, set for May 29.
Zuma served as the fourth president of the democratic South Africa from 2009 to 2018.
He then resigned in 2018 after he was approached by the ANC leadership to quit, following his alleged involvement with the Gupta brothers, the Nkandla saga, and state capture.
After dropping out of the public eye, Zuma announced in December in Soweto that would vote for his party Umkhonto WeSizwe Party (MK) in the national elections.
According to Malatji, the ANC groomed and trained Zuma but he was using that against them.
He also accused him of using the MK for personal gains, knowing very well that it belonged to the ANC.
“He took MK now and turned it a fake one. He goes around recruiting criminals using our legacy to destroy the movement.”
Malatji, however, promised that the Zuma thing will never happen again and they will elect and appoint people who were fit for positions.
He also admitted that the ANC had its own flops and blunders but they were working on them to regain people’s trust.
Meanwhile, the ANC’s top seven leaders were also on a campaign trail this weekend to mobilise support for the elections.