Johannesburg — THE African National Congress's (ANC's) powerful national working committee (NWC) yesterday blamed the media for what it called a sustained campaign to belittle ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

"The NWC discussed what appears to be a sustained campaign in the media to belittle Malema and to position him as being at odds with the policies of the ANC," the NWC said. It said the media had a tendency to cover comments made by Malema in "a selective and often inaccurate manner".

The statement comes ahead of a crucial ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend which is expected to discuss Malema's role in the ANC's election campaign ahead of next year's general election.

ANC insiders claim there is a "sense of panic" at Luthuli House.

"Everyone has been deployed everywhere. It's helter-skelter," one ANC leader said. Another insider criticised the party's communications strategy as "extremely weak" and said it was easy to point fingers at Malema.

The ANC breakaway group -- led by former defence minister Terror Lekota and former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa -- has repeatedly mocked Malema for his comment earlier this year that the league was prepared to kill in defence of Zuma.

After a period of relative quiet, Malema made headlines again last week when he remarked that Shilowa was an irresponsible father for allegedly failing to make child-maintenance payments.

Zuma responded by promising that the party would rein Malema in -- but Zuma is himself in the firing line again.

It is understood that some NEC members have revived a lobby to ditch Zuma as the face of the ANC's election campaign in favour of President Kgalema Motlanthe. Their argument is seemingly gaining momentum among ANC dissidents -- those who opposed the dismissal of former president Thabo Mbeki -- and from moderates in the NEC.