This follows the ANCYL criticising the Minister of Employment Thulas Nxesi for the high unemployment rate and the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan for authorising the sale of some SOEs.

During the ANCYL’s hybrid conference earlier in August 2023, its president, Collen Malatji, called out Nxesi over the high unemployment rate.

Malatji said Nxesi appeared to be a minister for unemployment instead, adding that such ministerial positions should not be delegated to pensioners.

The Youth League’s president also recently criticised Gordhan, saying he needed to stop authorising the sale of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), while both Gordhan and Nxesi were unhappy with these statements, ANCYL spokesperson, Zama Khanyase said the league was merely voicing the frustrations of the youth.

"They remain our views unless we have been convinced otherwise and we are hopeful that if we speak about these things, they will actually spark a conversation that is going to drive towards our narrative as an organisation and what young people are saying on the ground," Khanyase said.

Meanwhile, Gordhan has since demanded a public apology from the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) after it accused him of failing to revitalise state-owned enterprises.