'Listen up, fat cats'

22 October 2015 - 02:38 By Staff Reporters

For the first time in history stun grenades were fired in the parliamentary precinct - at hundreds of students protesting against increased university fees. Inside the National Assembly, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene continued delivering his medium-term budget policy statement, as if in another world.Earlier, members of the Economic Freedom Fighters party had petitioned the house to postpone the mini-budget speech until the matter of university fees had been resolved, but MPs voted that the speech should go ahead. EFF members were evicted from the House after chanting "Fees must fall" as Nene began speaking.The decision to continue was slammed by commentators."This government would rather continue with 'business as usual' than address this very burning issue," said political analyst Mzoxolo Mpolase. "This is worrying as it has to do with rising social expectations against an economy that is unable to deliver on those expectations, coupled with a government that certainly cannot deliver on those expectations."UCT political sociologist Ruth Chaturvedi said the ANC government had completely lost touch with reality and the country, with South Africa now at a precipice."The fee issue is part of a bigger condition - an issue of equality. The students, through their demands, are highlighting everything that is coming undone in the country as a whole."She said the government dared not continue to ignore the issues being raised by citizens. "The question now is what will it take for the government to finally listen. They have not been listening to these issues, especially those around tuition fees, which are not new. They were raised in the first decade of democracy and then again in 2003 in the historically black universities. Now they are again being raised, but this time in historically white universities.''Yesterday, the multi-racial group of students outside parliament sang the national anthem. After students stormed the parliamentary precinct, police charged and fired tear gas and stun grenades on them in scenes reminiscent of the 1980s. A stun grenade was fired over the bronze bust of Nelson Mandela."Whites to the front! They won't shoot you!" was the cry as the police began taking action.Several students were arrested and injured. Sherrylle Dass of the Equal Education Law Centre confirmed late last night that 23 students were being held in cells in Cape Town and six in Bellville.Arrangements for emergency bail were being made.A group of concerned parents also approached the high court for an interdict against the police. The matter will be heard today.Among the arrested students was Kgosi Chikane, son of the Reverend Frank Chikane, a former secretary to the cabinet, Ilan Price, son of UCT vice-chancellor Max Price, and Markus Trengove, advocate Wim Trengove's son.Students protested on several campuses around the country.Those at Stellenbosch University vowed to continue disrupting classes until proposed increases were scrapped. At the University of the Western Cape, classes were suspended and students slammed the university's proposal to hike prices for residence accommodation.There were protests also at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Pretoria.On Tuesday, police and several government departments initiated national and provincial joint operation command structures to deal with the protests.The finance minister did not make any mention of the chaos unfolding outside, nor did he allocate extra money to universities to fund Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande's undertaking that student fee rises would be pegged at 6% next year.Instead, Nene said he had met Nzimande to discuss the establishment of an intergovernmental team to find a sustainable solution to education funding.At the end of yesterday's speech, DA leader Mmusi Maimane asked President Jacob Zuma and Nzimande to address the students "as leadership is required".Nzimande smiled and laughed at the request. But Zuma remained seated, ashen faced, in his presidential chair.Outside, students demanded to be addressed by Nzimande, but when he appeared he battled to make himself heard.Asked what he was trying to tell the students, Nzimande said: "I was trying to talk about yesterday's discussion with vice- chancellors."EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu said the immediate solution to the crisis was to call for a special sitting of parliament to approve a special appropriation bill to deal with education funding...

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