Free State ANCYL calls for Premier Letsoha-Mathae to step down. Image credit: SABC News
(The Post News) – The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the Free State has called for Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae to resign together with the provincial executive committee (PEC).
This follows the cancellation of a media briefing on Thursday, 2 October, at the Kaizer Sebothelo building in Bloemfontein, where ANCYL provincial secretary Jackson Mthembu was expected to address the public.
In a leaked statement to the media, Mthembu accused the ANC leadership of failing to engage with the league nearly a year after the provincial congress, comparing the PEC to “irresponsible parents” and even a “deadbeat father.” Mthembu added that, “They carry themselves as though the youth league is an afterthought, despite repeated attempts by the league to secure a meeting.“
“We were handed a deputy secretary, comrade Dibolelo Mance, who has no understanding that the ANCYL is an organ of the ANC itself. She is perpetually unavailable, and when finally reached, claims she has assisted COSAS and cannot assist ANCYL. This is the conduct of a lost soul, detached from both responsibility and consciousness,” Mthembu said.
The statement also reported that Free State has the highest youth unemployment rate in the country, with seven in ten young people aged 15 to 24 without work. Almost half of those between 24 and 34 are also jobless, leaving more than 442,000 young people not engaged in employment, education, or training. “The province’s economy grows at less than one percent,” Mthembu added.
Mthembu Accuses Free State ANC of Fostering Entrenched Corruption
Mthembu accused the ANC in the province of fostering entrenched corruption, citing inflated contracts, ghost projects, and payments for undelivered goods. He described the provincial leadership as “littered with reactionaries, dead weight, and parasites who are dangerous to the revolution.”
Mthembu claimed that “the Free State has no premier and no ANC PEC worthy of the name.” He added, ““Both must fall. We will not be pacified by speeches. We will not be silenced by spin. We will not be bribed with crumbs.
“We will mobilise, we will organise, and we will fight until this province belongs once again to its people. The wealth of the Free State belongs to the youth and the poor, not corrupt elites. The time for illusions is over. The premier must resign. The PEC must be disbanded. The youth will lead the fight for dignity, work, and justice.”
In a WhatsApp group message, Mthembu acknowledged the leak, suggesting that the media briefing was cancelled after instructions not to proceed with the engagement.
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