Yesterday’s deadly shooting during a Wits University student protest was a disaster waiting to happen. But an even greater disaster is our government’s lack of interest in pre-empting or preventing it. The spark that lit the fire came on Monday, when higher education minister Blade Nzimande, in an “update on funding decisions for prospective 2021 students”, confirmed financially stricken students’ worst fears. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) “has not been able to confirm eligibility for first-time entering students wishing to study in public universities in 2021”, he said. Basically, there is no money to fund new students’ tuition.
Nzimande rattled off a list of reasons for this precarious situation; nothing that South Africans weren’t aware of: Covid-19, budget cuts across government departments and a deteriorating economy. He made some sympathetic noises (“I am aware that this is causing great anxiety for prospective students and their families”). Two days later, Nzimande blamed it on all former president Jacob Zuma, who announced free tuition for all poor students in December 2017, as the ANC’s national elective conference started. It’s not an entirely inaccurate statement but a political blame game is pointless, especially when real suffering is playing out in the streets.
The situation will spiral out of control when there is a toxic mix of an inability to deliver on promises and nil will to manage the fallout, combined with a gung ho police force.
On Wednesday morning, #asinamali (“we do not have money”) protests spilt onto the alleys around Wits University in Johannesburg. Our police officers, notoriously ruthless at crowd control, displayed their usual excessive show of force. A random round of rubber bullets hit an innocent bystander on his way to a clinic. Twice. The yet to be identified man was declared dead on the scene. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) hurriedly issued a statement and rushed to the scene. Forgive us our cynicism.
Two journalism students, Nondumiso Lehutso and Aphelele Buqwana, from VowFM and Wits Vuvuzela, were shot and injured. Even worse than the injuries, is their account of what happened: “An officer instructed us to run away from the scene ... We ran ... I turned and the same officer that ordered us to run, pointed his rifle towards us and fired. I was hit twice in my thigh and butt cheek,” said Lehutso.
This as Ipid is still probing police action from February, when officers sprayed Sassa beneficiaries queuing for their grants with a water cannon. At the time, the human rights organisation Black Sash said: “The police deploying the use of force in the presence of the minister of social development, is a clear indication that the minister and Sassa have lost control of the current situation.”
That is the golden thread. The Wits situation was similar. The situation will spiral out of control when there is a toxic mix of an inability to deliver on promises and nil will to manage the fallout, combined with a gung ho police force.
Speaking from the scene was Cebolenkosi Khumalo, chair of the Wits Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA).
“The truth of the matter is that we are from Covid-19. Our parents lost their jobs, bursaries were not paid and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme said it can’t fund students who come from matric. We are saying we can’t allow that. If it means the police and ANC government must kill us, they must kill us,” he said.
This should send a chill down our leaders’ spines. SA is fast moving from the “pay back the money” catchphrase to “we do not have money” and if the shout for help is shot down, the price will be high.
