Former president of the ANC and the country Thabo Mbeki must publicly denounce and distance himself from party dissidents, the Gauteng Progressive Youth Alliance said on Tuesday.

In a statement the alliance said it was calling on Mbeki to denounce the likes of former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa and former ANC chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota among others who had expressed intention to convene the "so-called" national convention.

"This is necessary because these elements were using his name to manoeuvre in attempts to divide, an objective they shall never see, the ANC-led National Liberation Movement (NLF).

"Any continued silence on the part of honourable comrade Thabo Mbeki will be cause for concern."

The alliance said there was a bigger task at hand and that was to build a non-racial, non-sexist democratic and prosperous society.

"Our immediate task is to win the forthcoming elections. Any self-serving agenda that has nothing to do with advancing the well-being of our hard-won democracy, its people and institutions cannot and should not be tolerated."

It further called on all young people and volunteers to join the ANC-led Alliance campaign and ensure that the movement received a decisive majority in the upcoming elections.

"Our work in and around communities will continue unabated and we challenge the political buffoons to come and present their alternative imbecilic policies to our people and see if the masses believe them."

The youth alliance said that for Shilowa and his ilk to manufacture and tell big lies in order to appeal for acceptance was "wrong in the extreme".

It said it was untrue that the movement had abandoned the Freedom Charter and that the ANC-led NLM would never be stopped by "rich people's ambitious politicking".

"It is the truth that holds tight on our waist and it is a fact of life in South Africa that the ANC-led NLM and president (Jacob) Zuma will continue to represent the masses of our people."

The Progressive Youth Alliance is made up of members from the ANC Youth League, the Congress of SA Students, the SA Students Congress and the Young Communist League.