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The top 6 officials of the ANCYL (from left to right): Venus Blennies-Magage, Fransisco Dyantyi, Collen Malatji, Tsakani Shiviti, Zama Khanyase, and Jacob Tau.
- Collen Malatji was re-elected unopposed as ANC Youth League president during its 27th National Congress at the University of Limpopo.
- Other elected officials are Fransisco Dyantyi (deputy president), Tsakani Shiviti (secretary-general), Zama Khanyase (1st deputy secretary-general), Venus Blennies-Magage (2nd deputy secretary-general), and Jacob Tau (treasurer-general).
- With initial chaos causing delays, the congress commenced late, with President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing delegates nearly three hours later than expected.
Collen Malatji has been re-elected unopposed as ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president.
Malatji and five other officials of the Youth League were elected, unopposed, in the early hours of Tuesday at the University of Limpopo, where the ANCYL has gathered for its 27th National Congress.
The other elected officials are deputy president Fransisco Dyantyi, secretary-general Tsakani Shiviti, 1st deputy secretary-general Zama Khanyase, 2nd deputy secretary-general Venus Blennies-Magage, and treasurer-general Jacob Tau.
On Sunday, the elections committee of the ANCYL, led by Andrew Dipela, announced the names of the six, who have now been elected unopposed, as those nominated in branches and who had met the threshold to be elected as officials.
He said this was according to the ANCYL constitution, and that it did not prevent other names from being raised from the floor.
At a press briefing on Monday, ahead of the first day of congress, Malatji said the ANCYL was a democratic organisation and that delegates were free to raise names of the people they wanted to lead the organisation from the floor.
However, when it came to the time of voting, the delegates were unanimous in their support of the six.
Who are the new officials?
Before his election as deputy president, Dyantyi served as the Eastern Cape ANCYL secretary.
The outspoken leader came under fire in recent months for remarks he made at an ANCYL provincial gathering, where he claimed corruption in the ANC began at student leadership structures. Dyantyi has also served in the structures of Cosas and Sasco.
Shiviti hails from Limpopo and has also been re-elected to the top 6 after serving as the 1st deputy secretary-general previously.
READ | ANCYL conference delays leave Ramaphosa waiting as proceedings descend into chaos
After the 2024 general elections, Shiviti was deployed to Parliament and is the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation.
Khanyase, from KwaZulu-Natal, served in the recently dissolved national executive committee (NEC) of the ANCYL, and was the spokesperson of the organisation. A teacher by profession, she left her teaching job at a high school in Gamalakhe, Port Shepstone after she was appointed as national spokesperson of the league. She was Cosas president from 2015 to 2017, and currently serves in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial task team.
Before being elected to her new role, Blennies-Magage, who hails from the Northern Cape, served as the ANCYL provincial chairperson.
She also serves in Premier Zamani Saul’s Cabinet as MEC of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, and previously was the MEC for youth, women, persons living with disability, and communication and e-government. She became a member of the Northern Cape legislature in 2022.
Tau, from Mpumalanga, was a Youth League NEC member previously. He has served in various structures of the Progressive Youth Alliance, such as Sasco.
He was recently elected as branch secretary of the ANC’s Lusoti branch in the Enhlanzeni region.
WATCH | Chaos at ANCYL’s 27th congress as delays, disorganisation and drama erupt
News24 previously reported that the ANCYL congress started with drama, chaos and long delays that saw ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa having to wait for nearly three hours to address delegates.
The congress was meant to have started at noon, but only started just after 17:30, with Ramaphosa beginning his address at 18:00, instead of 15:30, as was initially announced.
Malatji and former deputy president Phumzile Mgcina apologised for the delays, and blamed registration glitches.
The congress will conclude on Wednesday, with ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula expected to address delegates.
