ANC veteran Tony Yengeni has been told not to attend the ruling party's Veteran League (ANCVL) Conference that started this morning in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg. Yengeni was told in a text message that he can only attend the closing of the three-day conference on Sunday. Yengeni was contesting the league's president position with former Veterans League President and Task Team Convener, Snuki Zikalala.

A text message sent to Yengeni, on the eve of the conference signed by the Secretary to Parliament Baby Tyawa, said: "On the attendance of the veterans league conference, as per my communication to your good self, I wish to amend this by advising that you are only to attend the closure of the conference which I'd scheduled for Sunday 30 July, with the former NEC members invited, inconvenience cause is regretted." Deputy Convener Susan Shabangu said it was not personal that Yengeni has been left out. "On discussing who to invite and who not to invite, Yengeni was left out due to budgetary constraints the ANC is currently facing, therefore it was agreed that former National Executive Committee (NEC) members will only be allowed on the last day of the conference. It is not personal,' she said. It comes after a week since the Women's League conference took place in Nasrec, electing Sisisi Tolashe as its president. Before that Collen Malatjie was elected the youth league president.

The conference that started earlier today registering 500 delegates. Just like the women's league and youth league, the veterans league was under a task team put in place last year to stabilise the league. Zikalala said Eastern Cape will bring most of the delegates to the conference. "The delegates have started arriving this afternoon and Eastern Cape had 125 members, Free State 29, Gauteng 65, KwaZulu-Natal 29, Limpopo 36, Mpumalanga 54, Northern Cape 37, North West 29, and Western Cape 47,' he said. He said 50% of the delegates are women in line with the ANC none racial character. He added those not elected in their branches will not be elected. "Comrades coming here without being elected by their branches will not be allowed, because it is branches that have elected members to come here and they must go back and report to their branches,' he added. "KZN and Gauteng will bring none voting delegates because KZN only set up their Provincial Task Team, (PTT) this month. They were not able to convene sub-regional branches and the same thing with Gauteng, they had serious problems, a PTT was set up by Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) and went to a conference but that conference was an illegitimate conference.'

He said the role of the league is building the branches of the ANC so veterans can play a role in leading and guiding the movement and society relating to issues of integrity and ethical values and also to contribute to the renewal through the battle of ideas and political education. If Zikalala is elected the president of the league, this will increase President Cyril Ramaphosa's influence in the party as he is his ally. Zikalala supported Ramaphosa ahead of the 55th ANC Elective Conference last December. Meanwhile, Yengeni is aligned with those close to former President Jacob Zuma while the newly elected ANCWL President Sisisi Tolashe is in Ramaphosa's camp. Ramaphosa also has close ties to the newly elected youth league President Malatjie. ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula is set to deliver the opening address today. The conference is expected to end on Sunday.