South African Parliament is positively Orwellian

Mpho Buntse

I have always imagined myself presiding over Parliament. As our democracy developed from strength to strength, I observed how individuals such as Frene Ginwala, Max Sisulu, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Nomandiya Mfeketho were able to maintain order in the National Assembly. This shaped my views on how an ideal Parliament ought to work.
However, Baleka Mbethe’s return to Parliament as speaker of the National Assembly has shown me nothing but disappointment. I cannot help but question her neutrality as speaker. Does the way Parliament has turned out have something to do with her obvious bias as its presiding officer?
Our Parliament remains an active voice of democracy. This voice should seek to echo our interests at all times. It was founded on the premise of our stellar Constitution – a document that came about as a result of bloodshed and sacrifice. As a young South African man, I say this without fear or prejudice. Like many young South Africans, I regard myself a beneficiary of our hard-won democracy.

I have been privileged in that in the past few weeks, I have met and engaged with some of the most amazing South Africans – men who walked on apartheid soil and endured more than their fair share of torture. Each of these men has taught me an important lesson – that I am privileged. These individuals all became activists in our South African struggle and all have made me reflect on the state of our national government and the future of South Africa.
First it was Dr Thami Mazwai. This activist-turned-entrepreneur taught me to be mindful of the people I serve, because different characters come from different backgrounds. The moral of the story is that our government must understand our needs and represent all of us. The job of elected government representatives is to advance the public mandate. It is no secret that we exist in a society where inequality is the order of the day. As such, we rely on our elected officials to champion our plight. Karl Marx once said: “Society does not consist of individuals, but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand.” We shouldn’t focus on individual needs, but rather serve the collective.

I met veteran journalist and former press ombudsman Joe Thloloe, who emphasised that “every action we do must reflect our values”. Our members of Parliament must at all times conduct themselves in a manner that reflects high levels of respect – not only to other members of the House, but to their constituencies as well. The recently embarrassing disregard of Parliament’s decorum is an insult to every South African who entrusted their political party with a mandate.
I also interacted with the former Minister of Defence Charles Nqakula, who told me that during the armed struggle they did not just use guns, but did so while chanting the words: “The people shall govern!” – a clause in the Freedom Charter. This was a reminder that their objective was to usher in a new age of South African freedom. I am grateful for their sacrifices.

The lamentable state of our Parliament makes me wonder whether our voices are really being echoed in the house. Does it still champion our interests? Does it remain the historical institution meant to address governance at a national level? It’s all too disturbingly reminiscent of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Remember how Napoleon emerged as an utterly corrupt opportunist, Snowball’s strategic approach to service delivery and Boxer’s battle tactics and ultimate downfall? Our Parliament is positively Orwellian.

President Jacob Zuma delivered his state of the nation address last week. Although it touched on the most crucial issues facing us, such as the energy crisis and lack of service delivery, what many South Africans are concerned about is the respect and tolerance that seems completely absent in the fifth Parliament.

The country’s economy is under siege; we are at serious risk of losing the little foreign investment that still saw SA as an attractive option. Following the suspension of the Economic Freedom Fighters MPs last year, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out that the late, great Nelson Mandela would have been embarrassed at the disorder in the House. However much I’d like to cling to that boyhood dream of the perfect Parliament, it’s hard to disagree; the fathers of our democracy are turning in their graves as we speak.

SA Democracy SAparliament eff anchttp://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

Student LGBTI group took to the street

Liberati was founded in 2009 to give a voice to issues facing the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) society of UJ.  They feel that there is still a lot that the university can do to aid their cause. Liberati organiser and marketing manager Realeboga Manotwana said, “We feel that we are not being catered for, for example as far as distributing condoms is concerned, there is access to both male and female condoms but we never get gay lubricants for gay students. We need structural change and gender sensitivity on campus.”

Liberati hosted a silent march of activism, fighting for the gay and lesbian rights at the Kingsway campus on the 17^th of May 2012.  The march formed part of the International day against Homophobia commemoration. The event was covered by numerous national radio stations and newspapers.

Manotwana said the gender and transformation office is “not doing its job” because they are not supporting them and they feel they do not necessarily have rights on campus. “When a gay is assaulted on campus it is not considered a hate crime, which is wrong because when they beat you on campus because your of your sexuality, it is a hate crime.”

Deputy Chairperson of Liberati, Katlego Pilusa, said there is an individual that would like to remain anonymous who was once attacked by a group of male students coming from the library because of his sexuality. The case was reported to the campus security but the victim was not impressed with the way the case was handled because it took long to resolve and his main concern was that he was not invited to form part of the hearing.

According to Miss Manotwana there have been a number of homosexual attacks on campus.  The LGBT society is in need of support and want to be treated as human beings and not treated differently because of their sexuality.

The silent march was an appeal to the University for support. “Hopefully after the march the University is going to hear us and give us attention,” said Manotwana. Liberati is appealing to the university to have gay and lesbian rights stipulated for them and the different situations they face. Protection, sexual education, gender sensitivity, counselling, support and structural change are some of the changes they are asking for. The University has the ability to influence change so that all students, regardless of sexual orientation, can feel comfortable and excel in their studies without being judged.

Protection services director Mr Roelof Hugo said all the cases that are reported to them are handled appropriately without discrimination in terms of race, sexuality or any other criteria. He said that when a case is reported, they investigate it and send it to student affairs which then hold a hearing or the appropriate conduct depending on the crime committed. Mr Theo Botha who is the acting Head of Protection Services APK added “if we discriminated we would have declined the march, as long as a person is a student at UJ they have our full protection, we will not treat them differently because they are gay or lesbian.” 

About the blog

Student politik is a blog established by Mpho Buntse, a young, vibrant and aspiring politician. The blog is dedicated to investigating, scrutinizing and analysing all political events in campuses across South Africa. The blog report on the Student Representative Councils, elections, campaigns by political student movements etc.

The aim of this blog is mainly to keep both the students who are not politically inclined and who are not up to speed with what happens in the campus politics.

From a very young age Mpho Buntse has been a fan of all things political. Mpho has dedicated all his life to serving his society. His political carrer started when he was in high school. He was of the few radical young students, he strived for equality amongst all students and to date he is still fighting for the course. Mpho believes that he has served in most strucures than the president of the country, below are some of his credentials:

·        2006 - Chairperson for the school debating society (Kanana Secondary School)

·        2007- Secretary for the Representative Council of Learners (Kanana Secondary School)
·        2007- Regional Chairperson for the Representative Council of Learners (Dr Kenneth Kaunda Region)
·        2008- Delegate to the International Safety Congress for high schools
·        2008- Education Desk convener for the City of Matlosana junior Mayoral Council
·        2008-Head Boy, Kanana Secondary School
·     2008- Chairperson of COSAS sub-branch (Kanana Secondary School)
·     2008- Additional member for the COSAS BEC (Kanana branch)
·        2008- Delegate to the Congress of South African Student, National Conference
      2007- Made my first TV debut when i appeared on the television reality show (Zola 7) fighting crime in   Kanana
·    2007- Made headlines in the local newspaper when i questioned  the then minister of correctional service on his safety policies

·         2007- Provincial finalist ( North West department of Roads and Community Safety Oratory Championships)
·         2008- Provincial finalist ( Sowetan/Anglo American Young Communicators Awards)
·         2008- National finalist ( National Schools Language Festival, Parliamentary Debate, NCOP)
·     2009- Member of the UJ student Parliament
·     2010- Reporter for the UJ Observer (The official student newspaper of the University of Johannesburg)
·     2011- Public Relations Officer for Liberati Student Society
·    2011- Member of the HIV/AIDS Council (University of Johannesburg)
·    2012- Co-founder of the Whizz Kids Literacy Foundation (Registration still in progress)
·    2012- University of Johannesburg SRC task council secretary
 ·    2012- Sat in the UJ Disciplinary Committee
·    2012- Sat in the UJ Faculty of Economics F7 (academic exclusion) appeals committee
·         2012/2013- Sports Arts and Culture Officer Student Representative Council (UJ APK)

the history of student politics in sa

The history of student politics in South Africa dates back as far as 1924. This year marked the emergence of student politics, when a group of all Afrikaans and English institution met at Grey College to form a student movement. This structure was then called the National Union of South African Student's (NUSAS). At its first conference NUSAS then resoluted that the structure will coordinate the Student Representative Councils. NUSAS was dominated by white students and as a result black students felt that they were marginalized and they wanted to express their voices. In 1969 Steve Biko, Barney Pityana, Aubrey Mokoena, Patrick Lekota, Saths Cooper and countless others led a breakaway and formed what was called the South African Students Organisation. SASO mobilised students across the country for protests through community activities. However in 1977 SASO was banned as part of the national state of emergency post the events of the 1976 youth upraising.

After the formation and banning of SASO the trend then followed through. In 1981 the Azanian Students Organisation was formed and this was to fill the space left by the banned SASO. AZASO brought together the SRC’s of all black campuses. AZASO was directly aligned to the Azanian People’s Organisation, which represented the Black Consciousness Movement. Later AZASO became increasingly remote from its Black Consciousness origins and sought to reflect the ditching of this baggage by changing its name to the more representative South African National Students Congress (SANSCO) to also reflect its complete adherence to the Freedom Charter and the congress movement lead by the African National Congress which was still banned. SANSCO identified closely with community organizations it was an active affiliate of the United Democratic Front. From there onward other influential student movements emerged such as the merger of SANSCO and NUSAS and the most recent the formation of the South African Student Congress.

Post the apardheid era we have seen a dramatic in the fight for student issues, amongst many of the challenges identified were transformation in institutions of higher learning, the strengthening of resources, th reduction of fees, calls to increase the number of student accommodation and most recently free education advocated by sasco and its progressive youth alliances. Student activists continue to advocate for better learning conditions. However we are currently faced with a challenge of certain groups who are not selfless in fighting for the above mentioned issues that are necessary in creating conducive learning environments. The contestation of src is even becoming more democratic as new and emerging student wings are introduced and these include the democratic alliance student organization (da),  South African Democratic Students Movement (ifp), COPE Student Movement (cope), The National Freedom Party student wing and independent candidates.

 ANCYL ON A WINNING STREAK!

The Student Representative Council plays a vital role in addressing issues affecting students in institutions of higher learning across the country. Amongst many of their mandates, they sit in the institution’s council comprised of the senate, council and the principal. The Higher Education Act (Act no. 101 of 1997) stipulates that the establishment and composition, manner of election, term of office, functions and privileges of the SRC of a public higher education institution must be determined by the institutional statute. SRC elections are held annually and students can vote for an organisation or independent candidate of their choice.

The University of Johannesburg students embarked on 2013 annual SRC elections. The leadership race was highly contested across all four campuses and this was viewed by many students as a true reflection of democracy. The Democratic Alliance Student Organisation, South African Student Congress and the African National Congress Youth League were amongst organisations contesting SRC.

The three weeks prior to elections comprised of intense campaigns and lobbying both in campus and external accommodations. According to Mike Sathekge who was deployed by the Independent Electoral Commission to oversee the election process, candidates signed the electoral conduct in order to pledge for free and fair elections. The IEC confirmed that over 5000 students voted in the Auckland Park Kingsway campus alone and it’s a very low turnout when compared to other institutions said Sathekge.

The ANCYL won all 12 seats in APK while in other 3 campuses SASCO claimed their uncontested victory. The student governance director Godfrey Helani welcomed the results and deemed them fair.