Rise Mzansi Youth and Student Chapters Convenor, Lawrence Manaka, has lashed out at the ANC Youth League for marching against crime in Gauteng, yet the governing party is the epitome of corruption and thrives in lawlessness leadership.
On Wednesday, the ANCYL led an anti-crime march at Giant Stadium in Soshanguve, Pretoria.
The streets of Soshanguve were coloured in yellow T-shirts from ANC members and locals, walking hand-in-hand lamenting rife criminal activities in the township. This follows the murder of 5-year-old Ditebogo Phalane, who was shot and killed during a hijacking in recent weeks.
The march was led by senior ANCYL officials, including national chairperson Wesley Kgang. He expressed the march was a campaign against crime in Soshanguve.
“It is a campaign against crime because there is a high level of crime, especially in this area. Soshanguve has become a crime zone not only Soshanguve, but the majority of our townships in South Africa have become crime zones.
“On top of the good work the ANC has done, the issue of crime is taking us backwards because women and children are not safe in their own homes. We are saying the police minister must pull up his socks and work hard, because a lot of resources have been invested for the safety of our people, the problem is the work ethic of those who were deployed to do their work,” said Kgang.
Additionally, ANCYL president Collen Malatji addressed the marchers, telling them that crime cannot be eradicated as the local police have ties with local criminals, thus the safety of people, in particular women and children, hanged on thin ice.
“Crime continues to soar, because the police braai meat and chill in car washes with these criminals. How will the police combat crime if they are unfit and criminals are not scared of them?” asked Malatji.
Malatji stated that Tshwane thrives in crime, leaving locals unsafe under the governance of the DA. He said only the ANC will uproot criminals and score down crime.
“The first thing we will do is to set up a team that will monitor all police stations in Pretoria. A big organisation like the ANC cannot be defeated by something so simple, crime. We cannot be in Parliament and relax. We are losing the talent of young people because of criminals, criminals no longer fear the law,” said Malatji.
In the course of the event, the ANCYL handed over a memorandum of demands to the Police Minister Bheki Cele and national commissioner of police, General Fannie Masemola.
Meanwhile, Manaka noted that the anti-crime march was an electioneering campaign of the governing party’s youth league, yet it failed to advocate for an advancing education system and equipping young people with innovative skills.
“ANCYL is part of the government that has allowed crime to run rampant where families and their communities are unsafe. They have effectively marched against themselves; against a crisis they created by corrupting and collapsing the SAPS.
“This is silly electioneering. Instead of striving and working for the education, moral and cultural advancement of youth, the organisation has become synonymous with corruption and mismanagement,” said Manaka.
Manaka also said the country will remain a banana republic as the ANCYL was adamant on keeping the governing party in power, which “betrays and is devastating for young people, as the ANC has abandoned the revolution, leaving countless people trapped in poverty and unemployment,” said Manaka.
The Star