Radebe cagey about university funding

06 November 2015 - 02:35 By Bianca Capazorio

The government has still not said how it intends to fund its agreement that fees for university students will not be increased next year, but says "the money will be found". At a post-cabinet briefing yesterday, Minister in The Presidency Jeff Radebe said the cabinet had welcomed the announcement of the zero-percent increase for students and the establishment of a commission of inquiry into issues raised during #Fees Must Fall protests.Asked where the money would come from, Radebe said "the decision has been taken by the president. The money will be found".When pressed for details, he added: "I am not the minister of finance. The money will be found."He said President Jacob Zuma would announce the terms of reference and scope of the inquiry "in the next few days".Zuma and the universities' agreement to cover the costs of no fee increases in 2016 is expected to require an additional R2.6-billion.Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande was expected to make an announcement on the matter last week, but cancelled the briefing at which he was scheduled to do so.It emerged during the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement last month that the government had drawn its entire R5-billion contingency fund for this financial year to cover higher-than-budgeted salary increases in the public sector...

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