DA KZN: Zuma’s ANC should be at the receiving end of students’ anger – not universities

20 October 2016

There is general consensus amongst political parties that a crisis exists within our higher education sector.

Every day sees further clashes between police and students who are demanding a more fair funding structure for higher education.

Unfortunately there are now thugs and opportunists who have chosen to exploit the legitimate concerns of student with callous and unnecessary violence that has seen R600 million in university property destroyed.

There can be no denying that this crisis has been heading towards us for a long time due to historical underfunding.   It can also not be denied that this situation is of the ANC’s own making due to a string of unrealistic promises.

The reality is that our students no longer have a choice over whether they can study or not.  This has been taken away from them. It is on their behalf that government should be fighting to ensure that lectures continue and that campuses are safe.

And so the worst part of this entire crisis has to be the complete absence of political leadership. The response from President Zuma in particular has been pitiful with the deployment of a lame duck in the form of Minister in Blade Nzimande to deal with student concerns – someone with no real power, both politically and in governance to adequately attend to their issues. 

This was followed by the kneejerk reaction of appointing special task team.

The Minister then deployed his own security cluster for Ministers to the special task team, showing his only response to the crisis is one of force and militarisation.

This is why the Fees Must Fall crisis remains unaddressed. This is why students continue to be detained.

At a recent Brics Summit, Zuma was also quoted as saying that the Fees Must Fall campaign is “democracy in action”. This has become his standard response when faced with mass protest action.

This is an intellectually lazy response showing a lack of leadership and accountability in a functioning democracy.

The DA has laid out its proposals to fix the funding crisis in higher education.

In short, we believe that all poor students must be fully funded. Those in the missing middle must be comprehensively covered by the state – up to two thirds of their fees. And the highest income earners such as honourable members in this House should pay in full.

In the DA’s proposal, only those families with a net income of more than R500k annual will be burdened with the full cost of university tuition.

The midterm budget policy statement is a golden opportunity for public representatives to make key changes to the current funding model.  The DA will do everything it can to make those necessary changes as we go into 2017.

The sad fact is that the 2016 university academic programme has already been severely disrupted with some institutions considering completing the academic programme next year.

This would be a tragedy for the economy and for government. It would mean doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers and many others who should enter the workforce and government services do not. It would mean that those students passing matric this year, will not be efficiently channelled into the high education sector as a matter of urgency.

About two weeks ago, I spoke to a national banking director in Johannesburg.  He told me how he had to inform students who did not complete this year that they would be replaced next year by other job seekers who were available to take up positions within the corporation.

It is students such as these, many of whom are women, mostly black and come from the poorest backgrounds who are the biggest losers in this entire saga.

The DA does not believe that the ANC government is serious about resolving the fees crisis. Rather than attend to students, Zuma is busy prosecuting his finance minister.

Instead of engaging with the students concerns, he has treated the fees crisis like an outstanding matter that is last on his to-do list.

And sadly, whilst the ANC leadership and public representative know this, they lack the courage to take him on, remove him from power and even try to restore the ANC.

It is President Zuma and the ANC government who should be at the receiving end of student anger - not the universities.

This is one of the many reasons why the DA is working very hard to bring the ANC below 50% in the 2019 election.

It has never been more possible.  The ANC is at its lowest point ever and the DA has never grown faster. And in 2019, when we put together a responsive, caring and peoples government, no student will be left behind.

South Africa and its people can no longer afford an ongoing crisis at higher education level.

The DA calls on students, parents, lecturers, religious leaders and politicians to work towards the opening of universities. No university should be closed for even a day more.

Let’s re-open our universities, let’s end the violence and let’s actually address the funding crisis.

Issued by, Hlanganani Gumbi, Member of the DA Caucus in the KZN Legislature / DASO KZN Constituency Representative, 20 October 2016