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*Comments: We can’t be threatened, we represent students!* *Sandile Phakathi* On March 24, The New Age published an opinion piece under the name Mmbengeni Takalani, lashing at the South African Union of Students (SAUS) and the South African Students’ Congress (Sasco) for not doing their work as student organisations. At the risk of glorifying the hogwash carried in that article, I do think however, that it needs a direct response. Knowing Takalani, I know that both the ideas and the language carried in the article are far beyond his own comprehension. So rather than waste time responding to Takalani, I will instead respond to the “real authors”. Takalani is working at the SACP head office and is a member of the national executive committee of SAUS. It must be understood that he is part of the NEC of SAUS and “he” can’t be posing questions to himself. He has the courage to talk highly of public funds in his article, which I find strange and inconsistent It is interesting that the Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, does not bother addressing the issues that both Sasco and SAUS raised with him and instead seeks defence from the Young Communist League (YCL). This strategy has never worked with the student movement and the minister should know better. Since minister Kader Asmal’s time, any attempts from ANC headquarters to silence the student movement failed and it is not about to change. Takalani would have recalled that the last Sasco congress was in December 2009 and SAUS in April 2009 when he was elected to the SAUS NEC. Surely he can’t forget that, so obviously he is not the author. It is untrue that Nzimande’s department funds SAUS. Nzimande and his senior staff know that the last minister to fund SAU-SRC and Satsu was Asmal in 2002. The only funding that the union gets is a maximum of R120000 a year from SRCs affiliated to the union. It is not in the best interest of the minister to have a resourced student union. Because if you fund the student union it may have the ability to mobilise students across the country and the situation would be out of control. The leadership of SAUS last met with the minister in February 2010 at his request to help minimise strikes on campuses. Issues of transformation have never been discussed with Nzimande because he does not have time, despite an agreement to meet with us quarterly. It’s baffling to learn from the media that Nzimande has been meeting with us. The issues that the minister should address are: • SRCs have written numerous letters to him about allegations of corruption and business interests by ministerial appointees serving on councils of universities. He has not responded to these. • The recommendations of the NSFAS review committee which he appointed have been distorted by his department, especially the vulgar free education for final year students. • The taxation of the rich to fund free education is the responsibility of the minister with all his colleagues in cabinet, but the support for this must be solicited from him, before Treasury can effect it. • The demand for the building of universities in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape was a student demand and therefore we shall continue demanding answers on progress. • The minister cannot continue to lead higher education through committees. He must take responsibility and have the necessary courage to confront vice-chancellors about governance in institutions • He needs to be consistent in the manner in which he treats stakeholders in higher education, as he knows that he is only available for vice-chancellors and not for students and workers. • The stakeholders forum that the higher education summit resolved on must be put in place and its work begin without any further delays. • The review of the merger of the University of Limpopo must not be a Turfloop-Medunsa issue alone. It is about reviewing and reversing other mergers as well, including WSU. • The minister must STOP referring to work being done without the knowledge and involvement of stakeholders. This was one of his commitments when he took office; to be reachable and to be consultative. This must cease to be a political slogan and be lived by in practice. It has come to my attention that there is a claim of a conspiracy to get rid of the minister. If we had the power to do that as the students we would, but this is the responsibility of the president. Where to from here, Mr Mmbengeni Takalani? Are you still going to attach your name to statements you do not know about? For once have a conscience. * Sandile Phakathi is the president of the SAUS and a masters student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He writes in his official capacity* -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
