YCLSA DISGUSTED BY PROFESSOR JANSEN ATTACK ON PRESIDENT ZUMA
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] is utterly disgusted and annoyed by the unwarranted comments by Professor Jonathan Jansen on the name and person of the President, the ANC and government officials yesterday in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape in what was supposed to be a motivational talk.
It is reported in the Sowetan that the professor uttered the following reckless statements about the president, "Guys I know it is difficult being you, because you live in a country where the most important people in the country do not know how to keep their zips up, and the only way out of poverty is through education, not through the ANC and not through connections". The professor does not only insult the president but goes further to belittle our glorious liberation movement the African National Congress [ANC], and this statements perpetuated are disappointing from a man of his stature.
As the YCLSA we view this as mischievous, and such a stunt is playing to the gallery to attract attention. The professor has joined the bandwagon with those who sees it as fashionable to create a name for themselves by insulting the state President. He has a taken a route that the likes of Brett Murray and Ayanda Mabulu are of this world has not successfully completed. We warn those who still habour ambitions of insulting the President to desist from doing so as this is starting to get thin and boring.
We respect the freedom of speech of individuals, but if the purpose of such freedom is to denigrate other individuals without substance and a contribution towards making our children better citizens, they should be contested.
The Great Professor should heed the advice of Cicero who against Mark Antony, who said that
"If I have said anything insulting against his way of life or against his morals, I will not object to his being my bitterest enemy. But if I have maintained the same habits that I have already adopted in the republic-that is, if I have spoken my opinions concerning the affairs of the republic with freedom-in the first place, I beg that he will not be angry with me for that; but, in the next place, if I cannot obtain my first request, I beg, at least, that he will show his anger only as he legitimately may show it to a fellow citizen."
We would like to remind the professor that the racist Reitz 4 video was produced under his watch and he tried to cover it up, and still is a stumbling block to higher education transformation at the university. He must transform himself and stop being a neo-liberal agent co-opted into an onslaught against our movement, poisoning young people of South Africa and our society to join his misguided crusade.
The Great Professor should instead enlighten us on the progress of transformation in the University of Free State, and how he has dealt with racism and created access for thousand of Black, Indian and Coloured South Africans who remain outside the university gates of UFS instead of resorting to insults.
We wonder how the Great Professor will feel if, instead of engaging with him on his failure of leadership at UFS, we blurt out his promiscuous behaviour or perpetual drunkenness at work. These may not be in the public arena, and may be untrue and were not the terms of reference for his appointment as Vice Chancellor, but if that is the road the Great Professor wants us to traverse, we are prepared to engaged in it.
We call the professor to order for his unfortunate recklessness that has to be experienced by our society as he disrespects other people's dignity and deflects attention from the real South African problems and reducing all to President Jacob Zuma thus turning our people to neglect the structural and historical problems that excacerbates the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty.
Statement issued by Mangaliso Stalin Khonza, National Spokesperson, Young Communist League of SA, September 7 2012
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