Joint Statement of the Gert Sibande ANC Youth League Regional Executive Committee and Young Communist League of South Africa, Gert Sibande District Executive Committee on the recaling of the Gert Sibande District Municipality Mayor, Cde Kgotso Motloung
16 March 2012 For immediate release The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and Young Communist League of South Africa (Ufasimba) in Gert Sibande learns with shock and disappointment of the news of the recalling of the District Executive Mayor of Gert Sibande District Municipality, and ANCYL Provincial Chairperson, Cde Kgotso Motloung on Wednesday by the council of the District. We, as progressive youth organisations committed to daily youth economic and social struggles, have long expressed our dissatisfaction at the factional posture of the plan, initially conjured up in December 2011, to recall the mayor. It remains our considered view that this action is a witch-hunt aimed at silencing the voice of the youth in the region and province. We are further troubled by the baseless pretext used to justify the "coup d'état”. It is alleged the mayor irregularly convened the 2011 Gert Sibande Youth Summit. This allegation is made in full knowledge of the fact that in the last financial year the Gert Sibande District Municipality received an unqualified audit, the only district municipality in the province to receive such an opinion. We are disappointed that the youth summit, which was convened to amongst other things to try to develop solutions to address many of the issues at the centre of the many service delivery protests in our district which were lead by young people. The youth summit was a platform created to come up with resolutions to remedy the underlying demands of these demonstrations. The decision by the RWC to single out the District Mayor is further surprising, especially since all seven local municipalities in Gert Sibande received disclaimer opinions from the Auditor General over the corresponding period. As the ANC Youth League and YCLSA we express our disappoint at the leadership provided by the ANC in the Region. We are astonished by the premeditated disregard of due political process by councillors deployed by the ANC. We are bothered by how councillors can unilaterally, in collusion with some members of the REC, disregard ANC deployment policy and recall the mayor. We are bothered as to why this issue was not referred to the plenary of the REC for discussion and then referred to the PEC Deployment Committee, the only structure task with deployment, for ratification. As the ANCYL and YCLSA are convinced that the Mayor is being targeted for his perceived views on ANCYL and ANC leadership. We are in no doubt that these actions are an attempt to intimidate other ANC members leading up to the ANC Provincial Congress taking place in three weeks time. Fully conscience of the plight of young people, the rural and township poor of our district we call for an end to this tomfoolery and the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the mayor and his executive pending the public release of the investigation report that was to be carried by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs into the affairs of the District Municipality. We would like to urge all young people to remain calm as we continue to seek for an amicable solution with the ANC. Issued on behalf of the ANC Youth League and Young Communist League of South Africa in Gert Sibande For enquiries contact: YCLSA Secretary Sandile Khumalo- 083 760 4862 and ANCYL Secretary Zakhele Masilela - 071 292 9399/ ANCYL Chairperson Khulani Nhlabathi - 071 365 9948 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
