Fighting this anarchy is everyone’s duty

South Africa is unfortunately in an unnecessary crisis, with most people quietly condemning the current mayhem, violence, anarchy, and lawlessness surrounding the noble #FEESMUSTFALL campaign.

Many people have correctly criticized President Zuma for not actively pronouncing on this matter, while being seen to be criss-crossing the entire world while South Africa is burning. The South African Council of Churches has correctly requested the State President to formally address the nation on this matter as soon as possible. It is unfortunate that he has partly responded to these requests in a way that has infuriated instead of appeasing many of those South Africans who genuinely care about the education system in South Africa.

Firstly, he held what resembled a press briefing aimed at South Africans, on this #FEESMUSTFALL matter, from the far away shores of Nairobi in Kenya; this did not go down well with many pragmatic South Africans who eagerly want to see him actively engaging South Africans on this in South Africa.

Secondly, he appointed a special task team comprising only cabinet ministers to look at this matter; many people have strongly criticized this announcement on grounds that it was deceptively misleading aimed at creating a picture that something is being done when in effect nothing significant was being done.

People quickly pointed out that this seems to be purely a firefighting task team aimed mainly at simply addressing the security aspects of this #FEESMUSTFALL situation, which is merely a symptom, without necessarily addressing the causes of this whole mayhem. They cite the fact that the Minister of Finance is not part of this task team to back their assertion that this special task team announced is simply a non-event; they ask, how do you seriously look for financial solutions to education without involving the Finance Minister?       

The members of the ANC ruling party must also actively engage the public on this matter, and not just bury their heads in the sand, creating a perception that this must be seen as “a Blade thing”. We all expect lively open discussions of this matter beyond the confines of conference rooms. Many of us accept that the South African government cannot be able to immediately offer free university education for all; it is for the government to proactively engage the entire nation immediately after they have received their Commission’s report on this matter.    

It is unfortunate that I have deliberately said the members of the ANC ruling party must actively engage the public on this matter. This is because the observation by most people is that most if not all the opposition parties have not been vocal in their condemnation, if any, of this anarchy surrounding the #FEESMUSTFALL matter. I initially wanted to say I have not heard any of the opposition parties unequivocally condemning this anarchy; but, on second thoughts, I settled for the milder observation that the South African opposition parties have not been vocal enough in strongly condemning this anarchy. 

It must be paramount in anyone’s mind that we do not need a repeat of Marikana, despite the efforts of a noisy minority who desperately want to take us back there. The Acting National Police Commissioner, Major-General Phahlane, has officially announced that they now have strong intelligence that there are opportunist elements who have infiltrated the #FEESMUSTFALL movement with the sinister motives of destabilising the country and create mayhem.  

It seems as if most people believe that any public condemnation of this anarchy will be tantamount to an endorsement of the President Zuma government. This is a wrong approach, disagreeing with any person or group must not lead to support for unacceptable actions being used by those who oppose those you disagree with.  

There are many South Africans who fully support the #FEESMUSTFALL campaign, yet equally unequivocally condemn the anarchy, mayhem, violence, and lawlessness that has unfortunately surrounded those who profess to be advocating the free university education campaign. We expect to hear the voices from all or at least from most political persuasions and political shades united in their strong condemnation of this violence.   

I was impressed, inter alia, by the objective analysis of John Kane-Berman, who is currently definitely not one of President Zuma or the ANC’s friends, when he explained why it was important for the Wits leadership to accept that it was necessary to implement all the necessary security measures at the University in order to bring back normality after weeks of wasted academic time.

No one can condone the burning of some university buildings and the flooding of a computer laboratory at Wits as part of the acceptable democratic discourse. By the same token, no one can condone the forceful removal of students and academics from classes after more than 77 percent of the university stakeholders had voted for academic activities to go back to normal at Wits.    

The TV footage shown on SABC clearly showed stone throwing crowds violently causing havoc, including the burning of a bus and looting of some businesses, around Braamfontein on Monday 10 October 2016.  It was clear from that footage that some criminal elements joined the mayhem; and there was no observation of anyone actively distancing the students from those opportunistic mobs who took an advantage of the situation in Braamfontein.  

This unfortunately contradicts Prof Adam Habib’s political posturing when he vehemently criticized the assertion that there is a third force at place here. It is not my intention to personalize this issue, but it is important to highlight this issue of Prof Adam Habib strongly denying the existence of a third force infiltration of the #FEESMUSTFALL movement; many pragmatic people were not impressed by this live TV posturing because it gives cover to the many agents provocateurs who have opportunistically hijacked what was initially a noble students’ worthy cause.     

My comments are not just confined to Wits, they cover all the tertiary institutions affected by this anarchy. It is good that there is a growing number of people who have now been arrested and charged for this anarchy. People must not be allowed to make themselves instant political heroes at the expense of most South African students who want make a success of their lives.

The government, working together with most pragmatic opposition party members, must proactively educate the whole South African society on the various challenges to free university education, and on some of the proposed gradual solutions to this major challenge. They must take the South African citizens into their confidence, and honestly explain their objective position on these debates.

The failure to get students back to class and any possible cancellation of university examinations this year will effectively result in wasteful and fruitless expenditure of untold proportions to this country. Do you want to be part of those who kept quiet when South Africa was in an unnecessary crisis that compromised the future of millions of South African university students?   

FIGHTING THIS ANARCHY IS EVERYONE’S DUTY, while we all realistically seek workable solutions to the very expensive higher education challenge in South Africa. Promising unaffordable immediate free tertiary education to all may sound politically appeasing; but it is definitely not a viable option for now. Let us not repeat the mistakes of all the failed states who wrecked their economies because they did not want to be honest with their citizens on what is politically desirable yet economically impractical to implement.