Education activists slam Tito Mboweni for budget cuts

Members of Equal Education picket outside parliament ahead of mini-budget

28 October 2020 - 17:22 By Marecia Damons
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Members of Equal Education picket outside parliament on Wednesday ahead of finance minister Tito Mboweni’s mini-budget speech.
Members of Equal Education picket outside parliament on Wednesday ahead of finance minister Tito Mboweni’s mini-budget speech.
Image: Marecia Damons

About 50 members of Equal Education (EE) picketed outside parliament on Wednesday to demand that finance minister Tito Mboweni reverse budget cuts made to the education department earlier this year.  

The Supplementary Budget tabled on June 24 showed that R2.1bn was cut overall from the department of basic education budget. A further R1.5bn was lost across provincial education departments, according to basic education minister Angie Motshekga in her budget vote speech.  

EE said in a statement: “A total of R1.7bn was cut from school infrastructure grants alone, and a further R4.4bn has been reallocated within these grants to cover Covid-19 expenses. The consequence is that the right of learners to basic education is compromised.”  

Pupils who are members of EE (equalisers), post-school youth members and parents joined the picket. They want more funding to be allocated to basic education, funding for school infrastructure increased, and that the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) be allocated enough funding to feed all qualifying pupils.  

Likhona Mendisi, a 17-year-old equaliser, said: “As poor kids from poor communities, if we don’t get educated, what is the basis of our future?”  

“Education is supposed to be a front-line department,” he said.

Chwayita Wenana, Western Cape deputy head of EE, said the cuts have already delayed 1,938 school construction projects funded by the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG).

“Many schools have already been forced to use their already overstretched budgets to cover Covid-19 necessities. So they’ve been unable to maintain infrastructure and unable to buy school furniture or even textbooks.”

Wenana said additional funding needs to be allocated towards the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) on which more than 9 million pupils are dependent.

“We leave our houses telling ourselves that we’re going to eat at school. But if [Mboweni’s] cutting the budget for feeding, how are we supposed to learn? Because we can’t learn hungry,” said 18-year-old Sibongile Litha Maki.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni tabled his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) on October 28 2020. Many called this particular one a 'balancing act' in light of SA's having to rebuild its economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Government spending and debt, SAA rescue plan and the State Capture Commission of Inquiry were just some of the topics covered in his address.

We’re tired of hearing this song that the government has no money. 
Daphne Erosi, Equal Education

“We’re tired of hearing this song that the government has no money,” said Daphne Erosi, co-ordinator at the EE parents’ division.

“That R2.1bn could have been used to fix schools, but it looks like our minister doesn’t take education seriously.”

Public interest law firm SECTION27 announced on Wednesday that it will be admitted as a friend of the court in the local division of the Johannesburg high court in the Mahudu and Others vs Minister of Basic Education and Others matter.

The case concerns a matric pupil who died in 2017 after being electrocuted by unsafe electrical wiring at Geluksdal Secondary School in Gauteng.

SECTION27 said it aims to strengthen the law that holds public officials accountable for the failure to ensure the school environment is safe. The organisation is advocating for safe school sanitation infrastructure, following a number of complaints and queries it received regarding deaths and injuries on school premises.

“It is essential to ensure that school infrastructure meets the minimum benchmarks for safety and that public officials in every level of the basic education system are held accountable for their obligations to keep children safe,” said the statement.

 

 LISTEN | Dissecting Mboweni's MTBPS with Investec's Annabel Bishop

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