ANC anticipates influx of young ministers as 31 members set to retire from politics post elections

JOHANNESBURG - With 31 African National Congress (ANC) politicians set to retire from politics after the elections, the party says it anticipates an influx of young ministers.

The ANC is among many other political parties that submitted their candidates' list to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

These are people the parties are putting forward to represent them in the country’s national and provincial legislative houses, depending on how many seats they win in the upcoming general elections.

ALSO READ: ANC faces ethical conundrum of whether to include state capture-implicated members in final candidate list

The ANC said it received more than 2,400 nominations for its public representative seats in Parliament and provincial legislatures.

It said the final list submitted to the IEC is made up of 52% of women.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party also increased its youth representation.

“I'm anticipating some of the youngest ministers, going in that direction, which is why you're going to see socialists advancing developmental work or developmental economics as part of the work of the ANC, which is why you're going to see some that have been there before in the interest of continuity and change.”

The ANC said it would release its candidates' list on Monday for public scrutiny or affirmation.

STILL COMMITTED TO ORGANISATION RENEWAL

After including state capture implicated members in its list of potential public representatives, the ANC said it is still committed to renewal in the organisation.

On Friday, the party confirmed to the media that part of the names submitted to the IEC included members who were implicated in the state capture report.

The party also said it disqualified four members from its list due to corruption allegations.

Bhengu-Motsiri said there couldn’t be a blanket approach to matters involving individual members.

“Our core values of courage, service, self-sacrifice, human solidarity, integrity, temperance, humility, honesty, hard work, self-discipline, and mutual respect remain at the forefront of everything we must do to restore hope and in order to continue to earn the mantle of leader of society.”