New DA leader ‘passionate’ about student issues

Newly elected DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, addresses criticisms on student issues and politics.

New Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader Mmusi Maimane spoke to Wits Vuvuzela this week after his election as party leader.
Maimane said that he is passionate about the youth and the issues that affect them, with focus on issues such as funding for students.
“My passion is for the youth,” he said.
As a former Witsie, Maimane described his experiences at the university and said his problems were typical.
“Like all students I struggled with the same issues such as tuition… but I found it a great experience.”
“Historically, Wits University has always been at the forefront of freedom of expression and always active in protests,” Maimane said
He also had high praise for Vice Chancellor Adam Habib: “I celebrate Adam Habib and the way he solves leadership problems.”
Maimane added that the DA was growing on campuses, citing the DA Student Organisation’s SRC victory at Fort Hare University.
“We are the dominant SRC at Fort Hare, the university where Nelson Mandela went as well as many others,” he said.

However, when asked about students politics at Wits he said: “A lot more can be done.”
In an interview with VowFM, earlier this week, Maimane addressed some of the issues he has been critised for including being a black ‘puppet’ for a white party. This comes after he was elected as the first black leader of the DA with some calling it a strategic move for the party.
“It is not only fundamentally racist but it is also what Steve Biko warned against…that in fact the powerful weapon of the oppression is the mind-set of the oppressed.”
He also answered questions regarding the DA’s position on affirmative action and the party being accused of not being fully committed to addressing race inequalities. “The long term destination of South Africa is to build diverse work places…We support triple ‘B’ [black, broad-based] and double ‘E’ [employment equity] but we don’t want to do it like the ANC wants to do it.”
In the radio interview he spoke about youth unemployment “We need a growing economy for young people. We need to ensure micro-enterprise is brought forward for young people.”
Maimane also answered questions about whether the youth wage subsidy is an adequate response to youth unemployment in the country.
“The project of making sure that young people are getting into the economic stream is a project that must involve multiple dynamics, with one of them being the youth wage subsidy. These issues are multi-faceted and require multiple prongs to address youth unemployment.”
On a lighter note, Wits Vuvuzela asked Maimane what his nicknames were. He told us that his wife, Natalie, calls him “my love”.