ActionSA’s Mpumalanga Provincial campaigns manager and national treasurer, Kuhle Maseko, has resigned following a fallout between him and the National Youth Forum leader Hluphi Gafane.
Maseko had an issue with how Gafane was running the Youth Forum’s affairs, accusing the national leader of running the organisation as her “little spaza shop”.
The former campaign manager attributed his reasons for resigning to ‘a few individuals within the national leadership, who were determined to overthrow him from leadership roles, including Gafane’.
“I have received credible information that members of the Youth Forum NEC and certain leaders, including the chief, have been actively plotting my dismissal.
“The plan is to portray me as a rogue element within the party, seeking to punish me for bringing to light the very real issues we face - issues that are evident in the wave of resignations that have weakened our structures across the country.
“The truth is that we have been struggling without the necessary resources to campaign effectively. In the absence of party support, I have personally funded campaigns and SRC elections at UKZN and DUT in KZN, as activists from those institutions requested my assistance.
“This has amounted to close to R25 000 from my own pocket. Despite these challenges, our efforts have not been in vain,” explained Maseko.
He alluded that he would be working with the Thuli Madonsela Foundation to further advance the fight for the youth.
Maseko, however, said he remained a loyal member of ActionSA, adding that he was ready to serve under the current leadership as he still believed in the party’s cause.
Early this week, he accused the party’s Youth Forums leader of being a tyrant and doing as she pleases in running the organisation.
He said Gafane was neglecting the role of mobilising and establishing branches and structures that would enable the party to grow, adding that she was instead focusing on deploying her own people to leadership roles.
“Comrade, we are tasked with leading the youth of this nation, but I must ask: who exactly are we leading? To this day, not a single youth branch has been established across our provinces. Without branches, without grassroots structures, we are left with nothing but the illusion of leadership.
“We are leading ourselves, and to what end? If there are no people following us, if there are no youth believing in our message, then we are simply leading ourselves into oblivion. What cause do we claim to champion if there is no one behind us? This is not leadership; this is a sham,” he said at the time.
The Star