ANCYL president pushes for ANC volunteers in nasi ispani initiative

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President, Collen Malatji, has urged
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to prioritize hiring ANC volunteers through the Nasi Ispani
job initiative. Lesufi, who is also the ANC Provincial Chairperson in Gauteng, launched the
program last year as part of the Youth Month activities.

The initiative aims to fill 8,000 vacant posts in various sectors of the provincial government,
including education, health, social development, transport, infrastructure, economic
development, agriculture, and the environment. However, it has faced criticism from
opposition parties, with ActionSA in Gauteng vowing to ensure that the program is not used
to secure jobs for ANC supporters in the run-up to the elections.

While Lesufi has continuously dismissed claims that the program will favour ANC members,
the youth league president insisted that party volunteers should be given priority. “We are
saying, comrade Panyaza, it mustn’t be Nasi Ispani of people of Mpumalanga and Limpopo
who don’t vote here in Gauteng. It must be Nasi Ispani of Gauteng people who will vote for
the ANC. We don’t want people coming to Gauteng for jobs while the people of Gauteng are
unemployed,” Malatji stated during the ANCYL’s Peter Mokaba Volunteers Rally in
Alexandra on Sunday.

Malatji emphasized that ANC volunteers should be exemplars of a better life for all and
should not be expected to work without proper support. “We are saying that volunteers of
ANC must be an example of a better life for all. We can’t expect volunteers of the ANC to do
door-to-door without shoes, telling people about a better life for all,” he added.

The ANCYL President also warned that the organization’s support for the ANC is not
unconditional, stating, “We are saying to the president that the youth here are not doing
door-to-door work for free. They are doing door-to-door because they believe the ANC will
resolve their socio-economic issues. If post elections, the president of the country and SG
Fikile Mbalula don’t deliver on youth demand, we are not lazy to close the Union Buildings.”