President of the ANC Youth League Collen Maine addressing the youth. Photo by Samson RAtswana
COLLEN Maine was booed and heckled while addressing a
rally in Soshanguve, Tshwane.
The ANCYL leader was speaking at a rally billed as a show of force
in Soshanguve.
Even attempts by Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile and other leaders
failed to calm a section of the crowd who sang and made signs, signalling a
change of leadership.
Maine tried to play down the heckling.
“The media must not report that people didn’t want to listen to my
speech. Those who were singing during my speech wanted T-shirts,” said
Maine.
He dismissed reports of a rift within the league. He said there was
no fighting between him and secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza.
Maine withstood the heckling and declared war on the EFF and Julius
Malema. He said the country could not be turned into a banana republic.
He warned that those who were preparing to disrupt the State of the
Nation address by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday must be prepared for
war.
Malema has threatened that Zuma must first explain firing Nhlanhla
Nene as finance minister before delivering his speech. Maine defended the Gupta
family saying they were not even in the top 10 richest families in the country.
He said the Guptas are being attacked because they are friends of the
people.
“An attack on the Guptas is an attack on the ANC,” he said.
Maine said no Metro will be lost to the DA and the EFF alliance in
the elections and the ANC was focused on winning the Western Cape. He urged the
youth to go and register to vote to ensure an ANC resounding victory. “If you
fight with Zuma you are fighting with us. We can’t allow Malema to tear this
country apart. He runs an EFF tuck shop,” he said.
