SASCO GAUTENG PEC STATEMENT ON THE STUDENT PROTESTS 12 SEPTEMBER 2014 Over the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed with a sense of worry and hopelessness a series of protracted students and workers protests in various University campuses and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. In most of these at the core of issues raised by students are the NSFAS shortages, delayed disbursements and the general administration of the fund by the institutions. Some of the genuine student grievances pertain to lack of basic services including inadequate transport facilities, matters related to the safety of students in and around campuses, absence of cafeterias in some, student victimization of student leaders, concerted efforts to gag student political activism, allegations of corruption and privatization/ outsourcing of core student services. We have no doubt these are legitimate and genuine matters to be raised. Our structures and comrades have attempted in many ways to raise these with the various management structures, on many occasions they have been arrogantly ignored or lied to. We have been met with resistance, use of institutional machinery to suppress any complaints or dissent. Our comrades have been met with unlawful and impartial disciplinary proceedings every time they raised their voices on behalf of working class students. In worst case scenarios the management in some institutions has even resorted to atrocious, unlawful, inhumane and nonsensical evictions of students instead of engaging with their leaders with a view of reaching lasting solutions. They have done so, undermining the constitution of the republic, national legislation particularly the PIE Act, even to the extent of parting ways with their own souls; all these evil deeds are conducted in protection of historic unfair privileges disguised under the demon of institutional autonomy and “protection of staff and non-protesting students”. In MEDUNSA they closed down the campus, evicted students, ‘’’disbanded the SRC’, charged student leaders and other atrocious deeds. At the Vaal University of Technology they did similar deeds, left students stranded at the locked gates without any form of protection, clothes and food; some were violently removed and beaten out of campus and residences leaving behind all their clothes and cell phones behind. At TUT they agreed with the student leadership at the beginning of the year on many issues raised in the memorandum of the then protest only for them to default on those. This is a clear indication of the type of people we are dealing with; people with no regard whatsoever to at least a minimal standard of moral standing. We are dealing with connivers, always acting and negotiating in bad faith. At WESTCOL, Ekurhuleni College and Tshwane North College where our students were justifiably in a strike against corruption and lack of basic services, they elected to charge their leaders and not entertain a single issue raised in the various memorandums. We do not in any way condone violence and destruction of property by any one during our peaceful expressions of our frustrations and those of thousands of working class off-springs, through the blood earned right to protest and other legal means because we are peace loving citizens. We do however believe that peace should never compromise justice. It is our firm conviction that the only language understood by University management is that of students taking to the streets. We are convinced that amongst the factors that contribute to an expression of frustration through other means is influenced by extreme anger and hopelessness from our students. It has become crystal clear to us that the NSFAS crisis has reached its boiling point. Our students cannot take this situation any longer. Seeing the pain, anger, frustration and helplessness of our students at VUT could not allow us to be spectators and keep quiet. We ask ourselves if what happened to the goal of creating an egalitarian society. Who buried the vision of the freedom charter? Did we not agree on the creation of a people centred education system? What happened to creating peoples institutions? Aren’t vice chancellors supposed to be a learned, conscious and patriotic crop of members of our society? Who is responsible for or has defaulted in implementing the Polokwane resolutions on free education? What happened to the spirit of Ubuntu? What happened to the doctrine of the rule of law? Where is the caring society we all espouse? Have we forgotten our collective commitment towards the uplifment of the lives of our people and their total liberation? When will we realize the alleviation of inequality, unemployment and poverty? When will decisive steps be taken in confronting the triple oppression? Must our government and alliance be always ex-post-facto reactive? Kuyoze kube nini sizabalaza? The answers to most of these questions vest with our deployees in government particularly in higher education and our vice chancellors and councils. The time is now; we demand free-education now! The time for the ideal of free-education for economic freedom has arrived. We can’t postpone this ideal anymore, we can’t reason anymore because we have observed that we are reasoning with disingenuous and dishonest people. Our people are tired, they are rising, and our people are demanding that which the ANC promised them in many documents and contracts with the people. We call upon society to join hands with us. We appeal on all sectors of society to join us in arms, walk side by side with us in pursuit of their own liberation. It is our view that not all is lost. Our appeal is that the revolutionary conscience of the General Secretary of the SACP and the NEC member of the ANC, Blade Nzimande, should speak to the minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Emmanuel Bonginkosi Nzimande to truly apply his mind and at least dispense some political will on these matters. The revolutionary Nzimande should further be willing to provide decisive intervention on issues of students’ protests. We further appeal to the conscience of mothers in Mrs Nthabiseng Ogude and Ms Irene Moutloana to reach out to Prof. Ogude and Prof. Moutloane; the VCs of TUT and VUT respectively, explain to them that it is inconsiderate and uncaring of them to always throw out students who come from as far as when cape without sufficient notice every time there is a peaceful demonstration by students or workers. As the PEC we call upon the ministry and other bodies of the executive and the judiciary, inclusive of the HAWKS, the SAPS, the PUBLIC PROTECTOR and other bodies; to investigate and follow up on allegations of corruption, illegal evictions of students and take concomitant action against whoever found to be in contravention of the country’s laws and policies in general. We appeal to institutional managers to stop shuttering futures of selfless leaders with malicious disciplinary processes and expulsions. SASCO GP calls for all charges against students, activists and SASCO student leaders to be dropped, effective immediately!!! We have been and will continue engaging the ANC in all our wards (whichever there is an institution of higher learning), to always be combat ready if and whenever our students are victimised, unlawfully and violently evicted. We will be engaging the NEC of SASCO to encourage them to apply pressure both to the government and the NEC of the ANC to expedite the immediate implementation of free quality higher education. We will also, as we have been doing; engage the ANC in the province to avail themselves, their resources, their political influence and legal assistance to the organization so as to capacitate us if and when the need arises. The SASCO PEC will be meeting with institutional management of all affected institutions. We want to say to society, please work with us. We wish to encourage our students, our comrades and our structures to continue to fight; for your is a just cause. We invite all segments of society, all structures, all sectors and everybody to join us on the 25th of September 2014. SASCO organized by the NEC will be peacefully picketing and protesting to the national treasury and the department of higher education in demand for free-quality higher education. ‘’’IXESHA LISONDELE!’ ISSUED BY THE SASCO GP PEC For more information contact: Provincial Chairperson Amukealni Mashele: 078 636 0083 or emashele@yahoo Provincial Secretary Lwando Majiza : 073 582 2882 Adv.majiza@gmail
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 19:16:01 +0000
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