As thousands of South African university students protested against tuition fee hikes this week, one banner stood out for its raw summary of post-apartheid disappointment: “Our parents were sold dreams in 1994. We are just here for the refund!”
Former South African president Nelson Mandela’s erstwhile liberation party, the African National Congress (ANC), has comfortably won elections since toppling oppressive white rule 21 years ago, but is now losing favor with black voters who say it has done little to improve their lives.
In scenes that, for some, recalled the 1976 massacre of students protesting the use of Afrikaans in some schools, police this week threw stun grenades at students who stormed the parliament precinct as South African Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene read a budget speech.
Photo: Reuters
They have boycotted classes for a week, angry over university administrators’ plans to raise fees by as much as 11.5 percent and demanding that the government deliver on its post-apartheid promise to provide education for all.
Today’s crop of post-apartheid students, dubbed “Born Frees,” have no experience of white-minority rule, but have borne the brunt of the legacy of the abject poverty that afflicts millions of blacks two decades later.
South African President Jacob Zuma’s government, anxious to avoid downgrades by credit rating agencies as it nurses a budget deficit of nearly 4 percent of GDP, says it cannot afford to provide blanket free education.
However, it has found little sympathy as it grapples with accusations of corruption and misuse of public funds, including a US$19 million state-funded security upgrade to Zuma’s home.
“This protest may appear to be about tuition fees, but what lies beneath is poverty, unemployment, tardy and uncaring service delivery, broken promises and the denial of opportunity,” NKC African Economics analyst Gary van Staden said.
“Free education, free housing, justice for all and a place in the sun in a new democratic South Africa was always going to be a hard ask, but slowly, over the years, what was lost was the ideal and what was betrayed was the promise,” Van Staden said.
Opposition parties have been quick to make political mileage, with an eye on municipal elections due next year.
Legislators from the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were ejected from parliament in full view of TV cameras after trying to block Nene from making his speech until the university fees fallout was resolved.
The EFF last year won 25 of 400 parliamentary seats in a national vote, and has portrayed itself as the party representing the interests of millions of poor South Africans.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese