Riots Teargas and Rebellious Students

Will there be international condemnation for the current riots happening around South Africa? University students are protesting over fees and increases, they want free education. Government must do something, but what will the African National Congress (ANC) do about this unruly behavior.
Thousands of students gathered outside parliament today, chanting, singing and dancing, demanding that the minister of higher education address their concerns.  Police were called in to control the mob and tear gas and stun grenades were fired, sending students into a frenzy.  Sounds familiar does it not, remember the 1976 Soweto riots, when students marched and demanded better education, including freedom, teargas was fired and stones were thrown at the police who in turn opened up fire killing several hundred. The world condemned the apartheid government for the killing of students. it was a national outcry...... Now it is happening again, and this time it is the ANC who instigated the 1976 riots that will have to take appropriate action.  I wonder ...........................................

 On the morning of June 16 1976, an estimated 20,000 students from several Sowetan schools began a strike in the streets of Soweto. The protest was against the introduction of the Afrikaans language in local schools.
The black students protested against the forceful use of the Afrikaans and English language teaching. It was during 1975 that the Regional Director of Bantu Education announced the call of Afrikaans language usage for certain subjects including mathematics in schools. This new language launch was for students in 7th grade upwards, and informed that the natural indigenous languages used by the students would only be for religion, music and social lessons............ READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE - HERE IS THE LINK
 http://dillydee.blogspot.co.za/2013/06/remembering-soweto-uprising.html

SOURCE

http://www.msn.com/en-za/news/featured/chaos-as-protesting-students-force-their-way-into-parliamentary-precinct/ar-BBmhKqj?ocid=spartandhp

As Clifford T Smith said:
Higher education institutions currently receive only 12 percent of the government’s overall education budget, with the Department of Higher Education’s task team on university funding recently confirming that if they were to be funded at the world average, they would be receiving about R37bn instead of the R22bn they received in the last financial year.

That is right. Blade and his ANC comrades are short changing students to the tune of R15Billion per annum! That translates to full tuition fees for 375,000 students every year - almost 38% of all university students in South Africa..

Students must use their intelligence and realise that they and their parents have given control of the budget to ANC at the polling booth year after year since 1994. Now it is time to try a different tack and give control of the budget to other parties.

As the saying goes: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Students who boo DA and don't call the ANC to account are like battered wives who keep returning to their violent husband for another beating. Even though ANC disrespects them to the tune of R15 Billion per annum they still cannot wake up and smell the coffee. None so blind as those who refuse to see.

What a waste of money

Waste some more ANC ....
I suppose wasting will continue until there is nothing left to waste ....

Here lies R40 million Prasa locomotive for more than two months after a derailment, due to bad maintenance. That is a familiar story in South Africa.

It is amazing that the train has not been stripped and sold off as scrap.  What a waste of money.
The tender process and amount of money spent on these new trains could have build a new hospital or a school or both.

Who is short changing who?

Of the overall education budget, higher education institutions currently receive only 12 percent. The department of higher education received R22 billion in the last financial year and now R37 billion they say is need to fund the students on the same world average. So there is a R15 billion difference, what's wrong -  what happened. Now the minister of higher education wants the private sector to fund higher education.  Gosh what happened to the money.  The poor students have been promised that the government will aid their studies. Of course, its the serious economic climate South Africa faces. The money is gone...............

SOURCE:

http://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-blade-nzimande-student-fee-increase-protests-19-oct-2015-0000

Minister Blade Nzimande on student fee increase protests

19 Oct 2015

The Department of Higher Education and Training notes the current student protests over fee increases across a number of universities in our public higher education system and recognises that university students, like all members of our society, have a right to protest and voice their opinions and grievances. However, in carrying out this right, the department calls on all parties to act with restraint, respect the rights and dignity of others, maintain discipline, and protect university and individual property.
This past weekend we held a highly successful Summit that reached common understanding on a number of issues regarding the acceleration of transformation in our universities. These include a common commitment by all the stakeholders working for an increase in funding allocated to universities, as well as more supportive and expanded student funding models. Further, the Summit resolved to explore the possibility of developing regulatory frameworks in the area of fee increments. The Summit has indeed laid a firm foundation to systematically deepen transformation, and to tackle many of the other more pressing challenges facing the sector.
I am tomorrow convening a meeting with representative delegations of vice-chancellors, university council chairs, students and workers, to discuss and come up with a common framework and approach to the issue of university fee increases for 2016. An approach must be developed in order to come up with a dispensation that takes into account the
difficult circumstances facing especially the students who come from poor families, as well as the financial pressures facing the system.
I urge all the stakeholders at institutional levels to try and find each other  through  negotiations first, and for managements to take a lead in this regard. I also urge students to give space to these negotiations so that these matters could be resolved amicably. Considering the current economic challenges and fiscal constraints facing the country, the department urges all university councils and management to exercise greater caution and sensitivity in the process of determining fee increases in their institutions. It is imperative that they consult all relevant key stakeholders in order to minimise the detrimental impact on poor students.
Students need to be brought on board for frank and honest discussions so as to ensure that there is stability in our institutions. The management of universities must open up legitimate channels for discussion and dialogue over these matters, and not allow matters to deteriorate, often due to lack of understanding and knowledge of the situation and spurred by poor communication.
Government remains committed to funding poor students in higher education in the context of a constrained fiscal climate. Funding for poor academically capable students disbursed though the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), has increased from R441 million in 1997 to over R9.5 billion in 2015. While funding has increased considerably, it is clearly still insufficient to support all poor and academically deserving students. Processes for improving the disbursement of funds, and concerted efforts to root out fraud, as well as sourcing additional funding to support students are currently being implemented.
A recent meeting on 6 October 2015 between his Excellency President Jacob Zuma; the Minister of Higher Education and Training and various Ministers and Deputy Ministers; and representatives from Universities South Africa and University Council Chairs Forum discussed key issues facing universities, including student financial aid. The Presidential task team is to come up with ways and means of addressing some of the short-term funding problems as we approach the 2016 academic year. The Task Team will report back to the President at the end of November.
All higher education stakeholders need to work together given the great strides made and acknowledged at the recent Higher Education Summit in providing financial support and opening up access to higher education for poor academically deserving students.
The department calls on university management and other stakeholders to engage on these pertinent matters with a view to finding amicable compromises and solutions. Moreover, the department pleads for calm whilst the relevant institutional stakeholders are tackling these issues.
All universities would also need to consider cost-containment measures so as to arrest the spiralling inefficiencies and contain the inflation within the higher education system. All constituencies within universities must find mechanisms to assist in the maintenance and efficient running of our universities, so that the expansion of the university sector and shortage of funding does not negatively affect the core business of teaching, learning and research; and that an acceptable quality is maintained at all times. Universities must prioritise in accordance with their priority business and the good of the country.
The department calls upon the private sector to be more visible than ever before, and to contribute and invest in our higher education system. In fact, the private sector is the biggest beneficiary of our higher education system and investing, maintaining quality in our system, and making sure that universities are sustainable is therefore in their own interest.
The department calls upon students to give these engagements a chance to provide outcomes that are favourable to the system and to their benefit. We also call upon all protests actions to be carried out with dignity and respect for the laws of this country and the rules of our institutions.
I am committed to continue to work with and engage all the stakeholders so as to ensure we resolve all these matters and bring stability to our institutions, especially at this time when end of the year exams are around the corner. Once more, I urge all the parties to give all these matters the urgent attention they require.

Issued by: 

Department of Higher Education and Training

 

 

 

Zuma is not Corrupt!!!!!!

Zuma is not corrupt, and the media should stop portraying him as a corrupt president. The media should apologize to Zuma. Well that is what he said, not me.  Media regulation is on the cards, perhaps sooner than we think.

SOURCE:
http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/19/Zuma-I-am-a-victim-of-unregulated-media

Zuma: I'm a victim of an unregulated media

Jacob Zuma says the media has failed to apologise to him for incorrect headlines that damaged his reputation.

JOHANNESBURG – President Jacob Zuma says he's the victim of an unregulated media which has failed to apologise for incorrect headlines that have damaged his reputation by associating him with corruption.

Zuma was speaking to senior members of the media at a presidential lunch in Pretoria to mark World Media Day.

He says while he's fully committed to media freedom to uphold democracy the media must be regulated and there is a need for a tribunal.

The president says the media has not apologised appropriately when making a mistake and there must be some sought of regulation.

“I remain to those who read the South African media "corrupt man". The media has never said we made a mistake about Zuma.”

He says the failure to correct mistakes properly without bold headlines and photos leaves the wrong impression of who he is.

“Because you have placed yourself above everybody else, that is the problem. Why can’t you be regulated?”

Zuma says while the Constitution upholds the right to freedom of expression this comes with a responsibility of not inciting violence or hatred. 

South Africa Power Giant Selling Electricity to Zimbabwe

IS LOAD SHEDDING ON THE CARDS AGAIN?
How can South Africa supply Zimbabwe with 300MVV of electricity when there is not enough to go around our own country. Whose pockets are being lined again and who makes these decisions.

This does not make sense!!!!!   Darkness is on the cards!!!!

Will Eskom really afford to sell us 300MW, when south Africa is also currently facing crippling power shortage crisis?

SOURCE:

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/2015/10/16/zim-seeks-power-rescue-from-eskom/

A deal to import 300MW from South Africa’s power utility Eskom is being finalised as government seeks to augment Zimbabwe’s dwindling power supplies, businessdigest has established.
Staff Writer
Sources said the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe is negotiating with its South African counterparts to supply 300MW of electricity.
Ferrochrome and platinum refineries are not operating at full capacity at the moment owing to a decline in commodity prices.
As a result of this, the ferrochrome industry has excess dedicated power supplied by Eskom.
“The payment modalities between the chamber and the South African mining sector are being finalised,” a source said.
“The same refineries import Zimbabwean chrome ore and PGM concentrate and matte. So this is also in their best interest.”
The South African platinum refinery and the ferrochrome industries are relying on Zimbabwean ore.
Eskom has been reluctant to supply power directly to Zesa because of a lingering debt the struggling power utility has failed to pay.
The deal will see household consumers being spared severe power outages.
The Zambezi River Authority, an organisation responsible for the management of water in the Zambezi basin, is now rationing water supplies to conserve the resource until the dam levels have risen to the requisite levels.
The move saw Zimbabwe cutting electricity generation from its normal 750MW to 475MW.
Should the water levels at the dam fall further, power generation will have to be stopped, a situation which will result in the power utility rolling out intense load shedding throughout Zimbabwe.
The lake level at the end of July was 480,81 metres above sea level.
This was five metres below last year’s level.
Continuing generating electricity at the current levels would result in the lake falling below the minimum drawdown level of 475,5 metres before the onset of the next rainy season, a situation which might lead to a possible shut down of the power station.
The water rationing is meant to conserve the water resources generation of electricity to continue. Zimbabwean companies have been hit hard by the energy crisis.
The country’s sole ammonium nitrate fertiliser manufacturer, Sable Chemicals, on Sunday shut down operations at its electrolysis plant due to the country’s debilitating power shortages.
Staff Writer
At its peak, the Kwekwe-based firm consumed 80 megawatts (MW) before it recently scaled down to 40MW after shutting down five out of 10 electrolysis units.
Zesa further scaled down power supplies to the company, forcing the firm to shut down the entire production unit on Sunday.
Sable becomes the biggest casualty of the power crisis so far. By 2020, 164mw would be required in the mining sector up from the current 126mw.
Zesa is charging platinum sector 8,5USc/kwh, gold 12,5USc/kwh with the chrome miners enjoying a fair charge of 6,7US/ kWh.