ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has read the riot act to party national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, instructing him to explain his controversial remarks about youth unemployment or face being sanctioned by the organisation. <\/p>\n
Addressing youth league members at a Peter Mokaba memorial lecture in North West ahead of the party\u2019s January 8 rally, Mbalula said Mantashe should explain what he meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to the national chair, he says he is misquoted. If he is misquoted he must clarify himself about that misquotation. What the media is saying the national chair has said about the youth being lazy and that people must go and find jobs for themselves \u2014 that matter must be clarified. If it is not clarified, it will remain that the national chair has said [it]. This is not a joking matter, it is serious matter. It must be clarified properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said to Collen [Malatji] that they must not talk past each other. Comrade Gwede insists that he was not properly quoted. He must go to the media in the coming week and clarify himself. If he does not clarify himself, I will issue a statement on behalf of the ANC to reprimand him. If those are views, they cannot be the views of the national chair of the ANC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently, Mantashe faced serious backlash after controversial comments he made alleging that youth are unemployed because they are lazy and do not submit CVs to search for employment. <\/p>\n
He suggested that unemployed South Africans are overly dependent on the government to provide jobs rather than actively seeking employment. \u201cThe ANC has given you a fishing rod \u2014 must it now catch fish for you?\u201d Mantashe asked.<\/p>\n
A fiery Malatji clapped back this week, saying the youth cannot be told that by someone \u201cwho has never written or submitted a CV\u201d in their life. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the high level of unemployment in South Africa, you find leaders of the ANC saying that people are unemployed because they are lazy to apply for jobs. Those are people who are detached from the reality of the people of South Africa,\u201d Malatji said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want your views, we don\u2019t want your slogans. We want you to speak resolutions of the ANC and not what you think is right. We don\u2019t care what you think; we care about the resolutions of the ANC,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
At the league\u2019s event on Friday, Malatji took it up a notch, threatening to mobilise young people to demonstrate at the January 8 rally if Mantashe or the ANC does not clarify or withdraw his remarks. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no President [Cyril] Ramaphosa who is going to deliver a January 8 statement if this issue is not addressed. As the youth, we will march to the stage with our CVs in hand to demonstrate how severe the unemployment crisis is. It is a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mbalula defended Malatji, adding that he must be able to express the views of the youth freely. <\/p>\n
\u201cMalatji is not a rascal. All he said is reflective of a president who leads young people who are yearning for leadership. He is a militant youth president. As the youth league of the ANC, if as the ANC we are not doing things for the youth, you\u2019ve got a right to fight it. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe must not be worried every time Collen opens his mouth and speaks. The ANC youth league is a necessary irritation in the ANC. We don\u2019t want a youth league that behaves like old people. There must be a difference between Collen Malatji and Cyril Ramaphosa.\u201d<\/p>\n
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