THE Dean of students, Dr Pamela Dube, has confirmed this week that the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) will not be recognised as a Wits student society this year.
Dube said the EFF had submitted its application too late and as a result could not be accepted as a Club and Society Organisation (CSO).
Dube said it would need to reapply to the SRC at the end of the year.
The only reason the EFF was not accepted was because of its “late submission” and not for any other reason, Dube said.
Asked to comment, EFF member Tokelo Nhlapo said not allowing the EFF to operate on Wits Campus “is against our rights according to the South African Constitution”.
“The EFF is a movement that needs no recognition from an ANC-dominated SRC,” he said.
He made it clear they will contest this decision by the SRC and dean of students in the school council. The EFF will continue to run programmes and fight for free education on the Wits campus, Nhlapo said.
[pullquote]“The EFF is a movement that needs no recognition from an ANC-dominated SRC,”[/pullquote]
“The university students have embraced the EFF and they will continue to do so. We have five members on the Law Student Council – if Sasco [the SA Student Congress] think they dominate, they must think again,” he added.
He said there was still a review pending from the vice chancellor’s office.
Nhlapo said he believed the decision by the SRC was made for political reasons and not because their application was late.
He said the EFF submitted its CSO application a day before the due date, which was November 6, 2013. The SRC denies this.
SRC officer of clubs, societies and student governance, Sarah Mokwebo said the EFF had submitted its application too late. She also said the “SRC is here to protect students and CSOs”.
“We are not fighting this out of political intolerance. If any other unapproved student movement were to come to campus and run events without permission, we would not allow them to do so either,” she said.
Mokwebo said if the EFF continued to run programmes on Wits campus the dean of students would have to deal with them directly.
Earlier this year the SRC, which is dominated by ANC affliated members was accused by its political opponents of abusing its power in office to play “dirty politics” where recognition of clubs and societies was concerned.
ilanit@witsvuvuzela.com
