Johannesburg - Fikile Mbalula says he is ready to fill the shoes left by Ace Magashule and Gwede Mantashe, who are the most recent ANC secretary-generals.
Mbalula said after the void left by the removal of Magashule from his position in 2020, the position needed a youthful spirit who would be able to take the ANC forward. He was speaking during an interview on Newzroom Afrika on Sunday.
He said he recognised his weaknesses and other flaws which had also been pointed out to him by members of the organisation and other members of the public.
One of these, he said, was his penchant for the night life. Mbalula said he would not be challenging for the position directly himself, but would await nominations from the branches and other structures of the ANC.
"In the ANC, you rise through the eyes of your peers. It is others who say to you, we will go to the branches and influence them to get this outcome because we believe you can offer something on behalf of the movement," he said.
Mbalula previously ran for the position of deputy secretary-general in the past and said he received criticism within the ANC when he tried to run for the position.
He said he was told he was too young. At that time, the criticism was defined by age.
"They said Mbalula is young. He must come in as deputy secretary-general to Gwede Mantashe. I would have been deputy SG or SG, but the factions said no, it is either you are SG or nothing. I stood for that, but I was defeated," he added.
On the recent attacks against ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa by former leaders Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, Mbalula said these attacks were not good for the ANC.
"If you attack Ramaphosa, you are not attacking him alone, but you are weakening the ANC. We do not rise by attacking the character of individuals. It is wrong to talk ill of individuals and leaders, including Ace Magashule and other leaders."
He said if the elders of the ANC continued talking ill of the party and its leaders, it would make it difficult for those coming through the ranks to get guidance from those who have travelled the leadership path.
"Who are we going to run to when our elders are vandalising us the way they do? These are the people we are remaining with. Where are we going to run to? We have to go and get counselling and guidance from them. What I am saying is that we must maintain the decorum even in the most difficult times," he said.
The Star