The Young Communist League of South Africa (Ufasimba) has laid a scathing attack on the President of the ANC Youth League, Collen Malatji, describing him as a “hollow figurehead”.
Trouble started on January 10, during the annual Peter Mokaba Memorial Lecture delivered by Malatji, who attacked the Secretary-General of the SA Communist Party, Solly Mapaila, a fierce critic of the ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. Mapaila has consistently placed his and the SACP’s disapproval of the ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU), labeling it a “sell-out arrangement”.
Ideological and operational differences between the ANC and SACP have pitted two leading members of the Tripartite Alliance against each other. The third component of the Tripartite Alliance, giant trade union federation COSATU, has been experiencing a dwindling influence on the political direction of the country. Critics argue that COSATU has for far too long been preoccupied mainly with the internal politics of the ANC than the interest of the workers.
The recent attack on the SACP top leadership by the ANCYL presidents is a reflection of the deteriorating relations within that Tripartite Alliance, until the May 2024 SA’s ruling elites since the dawn of democracy in April 1994.
The no-holds-barred language at use in the public spat is also indicative of the simmering differences between the ANC and SACP. If the gloves had not been completely off, the SACP left no doubt during the party’s recent 15th National Congress when it resolved to contest the future elections independent of the ANC. This will commence with the 2026 local government elections. The two giants of SA politics could fight for the same pool of voters, thereby dividing their traditional support that they had garnered as a formidable collective.
The Young Communist League lambasted Malatji’s utterances against Mapaila as a “desperate cry of a leader without solutions of the unprecedented plight that currently confronts young people of South Africa”. Malatji’s criticism of Mapaila and the SACP was nothing short of political no-body “clinging to insults as a substitute for relevance, exposing him for what he is – a hollow figurehead”.
In a scathing statement by the Young Communist League, it claimed that Malatji is a “theoretical lightweight masquerading around believing he is a youth leader. Hid antics are a cautionary tale of what happens when ambition outpaces ideological clarity and substance.”
The statement continued: “It’s truly pathetic that a political jester, juggling empty slogans and worn-out talking points, dares to lambaste a revolutionary with the credentials of Solly Mapaila all while under his leadership the brand of the ANCYL is dwindling much like a deflated balloon left behind after a forgotten celebration.”
The Young Communist League also said it will focus its attention on mobilizing young people in their fight against youth unemployment, inequality and poverty. “We will not be distracted by the tantrums of a political man-child. The revolution will not be televised, and it certainly will not be led by political mercenaries,” said the Young Communist League of SA.
