DASO campaigns for private student accommodation, and challenges private entities to reveal their pricing policy through petitions.
PETITIONS, NOT PROTESTS: DASO’s campaign aims to address the pricing policy at private student’s accommodation. Petitions are being distributed across campus
Photo: Lebohang Masiloane
THE DEMOCRATIC Alliance Student Organisation (DASO) has started a campaign to raise awareness about the lack and cost of private student accommodation.
DASO has distributed petitions across campus and is seeking at least 2 000 signatures before taking the matter to higher bodies of management.
DASO secretary Yanga Damane said it would first take the matter to the dean of students and the management of a private residence. If they do not respond, he said he would go to the National Consumer Commission.
DASO members have said that South Point, a private residence, does not have enough space for accommodation and is not transparent about its pricing policy.
“We want to be informed of breakage expenses. Students feel there is no transparency or proper documentation,” said Damane.
Damane said the petition is being used to educate and inform and acts as “another form of research”.
“We don’t want to protest, we want to talk,” said Damane.
The petition aims at “challenging corporate entities” which prevent “financially restrained students” from getting accommodation.
DASO said it is acting on behalf of students who want to address issues of fair payment and to ensure the services rendered to students correlate to their monthly payments.
Wits Vuvuzela contacted South Point to ask about prices and information for student accommodation. But South Point marketing and sales coordinator Tendai Sibiya said they were not allowed to disclose information about residential statistics for the year 2016 due to “the nature of the market and because of competitors”.
