Why we should not mourn Blade's axing

There has been plenty of hand-wringing by the SACP and others over the axing of higher education minister Blade Nzimande.

No one is under any illusion that his axing, in another one of Jacob Zuma's habitual cabinet reshuffles, had more to do with the ongoing political gutter fight than anything else. But, based on Nzimande's performance, there is little to complain about.

His pathetic handling of the #FeesMustFall crisis in 2015 and 2016 stands out as an obvious low point.

However, outgoing statistician-general Pali Lehohla laid out some facts earlier this week against which even that saga pales in comparison. Lehohla's startling conclusion in Statistics SA's release of financial data on higher education institutions was that a higher proportion of black students graduated during apartheid than today.

The data shows that in 1975 the proportion of graduates who were black was 15%. Today it sits at 5% while the proportion of graduates of other race groups has increased noticeably.

That statistic might well be among the worst indictments of this government whose policies rest on a professed ambition for societal transformation.

How can this be the outcome for black students today compared to under the apartheid regime whose existential motivation was to discriminate against and repress black South Africans?

This data gives the debate on economic transformation a different complexion and is a powerful counter to the "white monopoly capital" conspiracy argument. Instead, the disparities we too clearly witness could quite simply be because there is a tragic distortion in the demographics of the skilled labour supply - which would otherwise allow for a rapid and natural change in the proportion of those who have access to wealth and capital.