ANC YOUTH LEAGUE STATEMENT ON THE SUGGESTION THAT OUR VIEWS AND EXPRESSIONS LED TO THE LOSS OF MINORITY VOTES BY THE ANC:

25 May 2011

The African National Congress Youth League rejects the media sensations that link the lack of electoral support by minorities to the utterances of ANC YL leadership, particularly President Julius Malema. It is a reality that like in all the previous general and local government elections, the ANC has not enjoyed massive support from minorities, particularly white people.

Since the dawn of the democratic dispensation, even when President Nelson Mandela was candidate for President of South Africa, after having led a genuine and successful reconciliation programme, majority of white people in South Africa have never trusted, nor supported the African National Congress.

The racial prejudices and stereotypes planted and cultivated by apartheid ideology of racism amongst many white people is a reality which should be confronted openly and not searching for scapegoats on the outcomes of the recent past local government elections. It is not a secret that many white people in South Africa were indoctrinated with the racist ideology that Africans are inherently incapable, corrupt, lazy and visionless.

These stereotypes continue to define majority of white people in South Africa today and if no one confronts this openly, we will not be able to defeat remnants of colonial-cum-apartheid racism. The ANC Youth League supports efforts by the ANC to investigate why the ANC is losing support amongst the Coloured and Indian communities and this should extend to efforts that seek to properly understand why an absolute majority of white people in South Africa have never supported the ANC.

The decline of the Coloured and Indian votes for the ANC cannot in anyway be linked to the utterances of the ANC Youth League leadership.

The view that white people do not vote for the ANC because of the utterances of the leadership of the ANC Youth League is the view expressed by the Madam in an attempt to divert our attention from real economic and social transformation issues.

The ANC Youth League has said on several occasions that "a supposition that the South African economy can be transformed to address the massive unemployment, poverty and inequality crisis without transfer of wealth from those who currently own to the people as a whole is illusionary".

Land and economic wealth should be transferred from the white minority to the African majority to ensure that the people share in the country's wealth as called for in the Freedom Charter. If repeating what the Freedom Charter says will make white people continue not to vote for the ANC, then we should get used to that, because we will never abandon what the Freedom Charter stands for.

Once again, the ANC Youth League appreciates all effort to understand why certain sections of the minorities did not vote for the ANC and specifically request that a thorough study be done on why an absolute majority of white people have never supported or voted for the ANC. Looking for immediate scapegoats is neither helpful, nor visionary and never not assist the ANC consolidate the programme to build a truly non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and united South Africa defined by the Freedom Charter values and aspirations.

Statement issued by the ANC Youth League, May 25 2011

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