Cool Kid: Thando Sibiya
Dynamic, driven, kind, trail-blazing and resilient are some of the words you’ll find yourself using when describing this young woman, Thando Sibiya.
Beer stimulates political debate
With a beer in one hand and their ideas in another, students grappled with social and economic issues on the continent. (more…)
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma calls on students to take responsibility for SA’S future
“We should be trained not only as job seekers but also to have a mind-set that says, ‘I should be a job creator’,” – Dlamini-Zuma
Wits town hall sees shouting match
Former Wits SRC member Jamie Mighti walked out of a Wits town hall earlier today after he found himself in a shouting match with VC Adam Habib.
A Wits town hall ended in tension earlier today after a shouting match between Vice Chancellor Prof Adam Habib and former SRC member Jamie Mighti, with the latter leaving the room when the argument reached a boiling point.
During the town hall, Mighti shouted his suggestion from the back of the room that Habib should order police to protect Wits students in Braamfontein, Habib shouted back that this was illegal for him to do.
Mighti insisted that the University of Johannesburg has such initiatives in place. Habib responded that it’s the responsibility of the municipality to do that.
The two parties then had a shouting match, with both accusing the other was ‘lying’.
Mighti said that Habib “Should stop lying to the students.” Mighti, who was wearing an Student Representative Council blazer, told all present that he is no longer a member of the SRC.
After the publicly heated argument, Mighti and several other students left the Senate Room. Habib continued with the meeting.
SRC president Shaeera Kalla told Wits Vuvuzela, “Town hall meetings for me are a space where things can really get unproductive, close to election time you find that parties come and want to have the loudest voice or the loudest bark.”
Kalla said she doesn’t appreciate students walking out like that, because they’ve come here to engage. “It’s a common tendency sometimes that when things don’t go your way to walk out, it’s a bit cowardly. But I do appreciate the input, and I think it’s fair to have input of that nature. The vice chancellor should be accountable and I really don’t think its professional of him to scream at students like that. There must be respectful engagement from both sides,” said Kalla.
On addressing the issue of Wits students safety outside of the university, Habib said he cannot control neighbourhoods surrounding student residences, such as Esselen residence in Hillbrow. “I don’t have the authority to look after Hilbrow,” he said. Habib added that he believed Esselen residence should be closed down.
Related articles: Jamie Mighti resigns from Wits SRC
ELECTIONS: Born to vote
Pre-recorded videos and live-streams from the other provinces were projected onto the wall behind the panel. From left to right: Khadija Patel, DJ Fresh, Kagiso Lediga, Shaka Sisulu and facilitator Tumelo Mothotoane. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
For a group of people largely labelled apathetic, the youth in attendance at a debate on a Tuesday morning, braving the temperamental and rainy Joburg weather – were anything but apathetic.
Yesterday, JoziHub in Milpark was the venue for the To Vote or not to Vote debate aimed at so-called ‘born-frees’.
Bornfrees stand up
There is a particular fascination with this year’s youth vote as this year the “born-free” generation, children born in 1994, when South Africa became a democracy, will vote for the first time. How they vote and who they plan on voting for are of particular interest because they have grown up in a democratic South Africa.
Lesedi Molefi of the organisers Live magazine said in the past three months they have interviewed a number of born-frees and found that, “we’re not apathetic and have an incredible role to play,” not only in these elections but in steering the country’s future.
The panel consisted of comedian Kagiso Lediga, journalist Khadija Patel (@khadijapatel), DJ and tweleb DJ Fresh (@DJFreshSA) and social activist Shaka Sisulu (@shakasisulu). The panelists were chosen because they are seen as accessible to the youth and their ideas.
[pullquote]”we’re not apathetic and have an incredible role to play”[/pullquote]Why should born-frees vote?
Addressing the question, why should born-frees vote, Lediga said: “If you’re not voting, you’re not participating.” DJ Fresh added that participation goes beyond just voting, part of that civic duty is to hold politicians accountable. Sisulu provided an anecdote to explain further: “If you’re dating someone, you can’t see them once every five years – it won’t work, it’s a one night stand then. Put your ballot in the box but make sure to maintain and nurture that relationship over the five years coming.”
The debate was live streamed from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Ginsberg, King Williams Town with questions coming from all three places to the panel. A common complaint from all three provinces was that the youth were never heard. DJ Fresh responded by saying the onus was on political parties to appeal to the youth on their level through channels like twitter and instagram: “Politicians talk at young people and not to them.”
The focus in the latter part of the debate was on what the born-free vote can achieve and individual agency. Patel said, “agency is important – it means having the power within yourself to do something.” The crowd responded well to this and the conversation started to look at ground level solutions and social activism that gear them in that direction.
Lethabo Bogatsu, a self proclaimed born-free said the talk left her feeling empowered and keen to be an active citizen, “I was always going to vote but now I’m not going to stop there. It’s not just the vote and then I’m done. I’m going to work on the relationship, my man is going to be my vote, my political involvement is going to be my man. I’m going to have a relationship there because being single is rough.”
The entire debate can be viewed here.
Conversations of race needed in SA
THE PANEL: Daryl Glaser, Karima Brown, Tawana Kupe, Stephen Friedman and Eusebius McKaiser held a debate on opposition parties in South African politics on Tuesday. Photo: Caro Malherbe
Opposition parties in South African ignore the lived experiences of race realities, concluded a panel of political experts at Wits on Tuesday night.
The panel, comprised mostly of political analysts, said that one of the challenges of a left wing party would be to articulate issues of poverty and inequality for people who experienced racial domination.
This was the consensus among the panellists debating the State of Opposition Parties.
Radio host and author Eusebius McKaiser and Wits deputy vice chancellor Professor Tawana Kupe co-chaired the event which included media executive Karima Brown, political commentator Stephen Friedman, and Professor Daryl Glaser, head of Wits’ political studies department.
Clear as mud
McKaiser, who recently published his book, Could I Vote DA?, opened the debate by critiquing the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) stance on “the race issue”.
The root of the DA’s problem is that its position on race is as “clear as mud” in a country where race is a very important part of South Africans’ identity and discourse, he said.
Furthermore, McKaiser said DA politicians have conflicting views on policies regarding Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).
He said this comes with the DA continuously displacing conversations of race with conversations of class.
Bowling over the black voter
The issue for the DA, as McKaiser describes it, is “how to bowl over black South Africans who are ‘gatvol’ with the African National Congress (ANC) , without running the risk of losing “the white ‘tannies’ in Krugersdorp” who aren’t and don’t want to be included in a party that is open about race.
The DA needs to buy into the social construction of race in SA and buy into BEE, he said.
Brown pointed to the strategic political blunders of opposition parties since 1994 and said she believes opposition parties have failed to be left wing. She argued that opposition parties make the mistake of using the ANC’s analysis and policies to oppose it, and instead form “pale imitations of the ANC”.
DA – a racialized party
The DA, which Brown described as a strongly racialized party, attempted to claim struggle credentials but ultimately lacked “struggle cred” and exaggerated the significance of Helen Zille’s personal role in exposing the murder of Steve Biko.
For Brown, the ANC understood South Africa more than any other party.
Friedman continued next with the sentiment that SA did not yet have a significant left wing party. He said if SA were to have a left wing party it would be formed out of a trade union, more specifically, out of National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).
He reminded the audience that “to many South Africans the ANC is still the party that represents liberation from racial domination.”
“70% of the population remains unorganised, excluded and voiceless despite having a vote.” A left wing party needs an agenda whereby they attempt to organise these communities, and pay heed to their lived experiences and concerns, said Friedman.
A multiparty democracy
According to Glaser there seemed to be an overall embrace for a multiparty democracy. However, he chose to look at parties which multiply within itself, focussing on the failed merger between the DA and Agang.
He said the decision to merge would have left them with fewer votes than they originally had. This had subsequentially left Agang lacking credibility.
During question time McKaiser pointed out that the ANC needed to take its opposition seriously and do an analysis on what the DA had done in the Western Cape.
“I’m tired being told by my family living in the poor areas in Cape Town how amazingly the DA is doing,” said McKaiser.
Witsies ready for the general elections
REGISTERED: Drama students Kelly Heckstein and Ashleigh Kelly talk politics during lunch hour at the Wits Theatre. Photo: Caro Malherbe
South Africans have until 5pm tonight to register to vote for the 2014 national general elections. It is still unclear though whether the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will see the number of registered voters they were aiming for.
Wits Vuvuzela was on main campus today asking students if they had registered to vote for the upcoming elections.
Are you registered?
Ashleigh Kelly is a BA Drama student who strongly believes that it is important to vote but said she identified with people who opted not to vote.
“Not wanting to vote comes from the fact that we don’t know who to vote for. Democratic parties haven’t, especially with the born-frees, given us enough reason to trust their party,” she said.
Sitting next to her on the brick wall outside the Wits Theatre, Kelly Heckstein, a BA Performance and Visual Arts student, said she is registered to vote and plans on voting.
“If we want a say in how the country is run then we should vote and to make sure the majority rule is not an overriding rule and there are certain voices in parliament that can help.”
[pullquote]“As the youth, we are smarter than people in power right now so we know how to think about things and implement them, so if we are not going to vote we are not going to remove these people with authority.”[/pullquote]The “born-free” vote
Born-frees (the term used to describe people born in democratic South Africa), make up 25% of all registered voters. Voting holds a certain responsibility and this figure could make a substantial difference to electoral outcomes. But it is unclear if those of the 25% who have registered will actually cast their vote.
BA student, Kenny said he was registered to vote but does not plan on voting as he has no interest in politics.
Vutu Mapodi, 2nd year BA, said “It’s a nice activity to do, you feel part of something and not left out.”
Ayanda Mgete, 2nd year BA, said that the problem, with South African politics lies in leadership. “As the youth, we are smarter than people in power right now so we know how to think about things and implement them, so if we are not going to vote we are not going to remove these people with authority,” said Magete
On 7 May South Africans will line up at the voting polls to make their mark. Born-frees will cast their votes for the first time making this election a momentous one in the history of the country.
PA’s Minty apologises for misinformation
Earlier today an article profiling Zareef Minty of the Patriotic Alliance was met with accusations flung at both Minty and Wits Vuvuzela.
Several Witsies took to Twitter to contest some of the positions Minty said he had held in the Student Discipline Committee (SDC) and within the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) some time ago.
Minty had said he was currently chair of the Student Discipline Committee and had previously been a treasurer for the Wits ANC Youth League. His statements were contested. Image: Twitter
Image: Twitter
In response to the allegations, Minty apologised on Twitter and clarified what he meant to say to Wits Vuvuzela reporters.
Image: Twitter
In a telephonic interview with Wits Vuvuzela earlier this evening, Minty he said, “I refuse to apologise for the SDC chair statement,” he added that he didn’t realise he needed to differentiate his position as chair of SDC representatives.
With regards to being a treasurer for the ANC Youth League he said he was willing to concede the error and apologise because he should have pointed out that he was “asked to assist as treasurer for a period of time”. He said the person who held the position at time was under review for non-performance, this person being Klaas Mokgomole (@Brainwasher1).
Minty said the complaints hurled at him were “really silly.” He also told Wits Vuvuzela that he would provide a statement but none has been received.
New contender in the arena
Third year law student, Zareef Minty, is the national youth president for businessmen Kenny Kunene and Gayton McKenzie’s new political party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
The slight looking 20-year-old Minty, who is also a fashion designer said the PA was youth-centred and had a strong focus on giving second chances to the reformed, like two of its own founders.
Second chances and new alliances
“If Nelson Mandela could have that chance to be reformed (sic) coming out of jail and having an opportunity, then we should allow Kunene and Gayton to have the same thing.
“In the same way a student has been charged with something should be allowed to have a future as well,” said Minty.
“Ex-cons” Gayton McKenzie, president of the PA and general secretary Kenny Kunene, met each other in jail and following their release in 2003, became business partners.
JUGGLING: National youth president for the Patriotic Alliance, Zareef Minty, explains how he manages between being a law student, political figure, fashion designer and author. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Minty met the two through his clothing line partnership, after Kunene was asked to be an ambassador for Minty’s own fashion label, Self Made Billionaire (SMB). “Kunene liked the idea of an up and coming clothing brand worn by celebrities,” said Minty.
Youth-centric
He said the party also included more young people in its decision-making. He said four of the party’s 12-member national executive committee were under the age of 25.
“We are the only party out there who allows youth to have a platform in the NEC. The ANC and the Democratic Alliance has a separate Youth League so you don’t get young people in parliament,” he said.
Minty is sixth on the PA’s parlimentary list, which means if they manage to get six seats after the national elections this year, he could be sitting in parliament and not in stuffy lecture rooms.
The party’s focus on the youth and a “practical approach” to politics are what Minty believes will make the PA “a better alternative to the ANC”, which he said was policy heavy with little to no implementation thereof.
[pullquote]”…if they manage to get six seats after the national elections this year, he could be sitting in parliament and not in stuffy lecture rooms.”[/pullquote]He believes that PA would be able to relate mostly to the born-frees because it was a party that did not have any “baggage”.
Campaign trail
The PA’s campaign trail on campus has come with its own set of issues, “Until we have permission to be a club or society on campus we can’t really go out in a group and recruit people. We have been working by going person to person, trying to get them to join,” he said.
The PA, often referred to as the “coloured” or “gangster party”, was founded in Paarl in the Western Cape three months ago and plans to contest in the upcoming elections.
Minty said they have a good chance of having up to six seats in parliament after this year’s elections.
Minty is treasurer of the Wits Law Students’ Counsel and the chairperson of the Student Discipline Committee, which influenced his alignment with the PA and their belief in reforming and empowering the previously charged.
Before the PA, he was part of the ANC Youth League on campus where he took up position as treasurer but the PA presented him with an opportunity for national leadership
Along with the multitude of things Minty has on his plate this year, he plans to publish a motivational book, Empire by March. Let’s watch this space.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Wits Vuvuzela. Just EFF’ing around? July 19, 2013.
- Wits Vuvuzela. Youth look for hope in Agang. June 22, 2013.
Women caught in a political patriachy
South Africa is stuck in a space where women politicians are the target for unfair gender-based criticism and humiliation.
This was the subject of a discussion at Wiser on Thursday called“The trouble of being a female in politics” with a panel composed of Rebecca Davis from the Daily Maverick, Eusebius McKaiser from Power FM and journalist and Wiser fellow Khadija Patel.
Davis wrote an article for Daily Maverick last week on the special problems for women in politics. The article, which caused wide debate, addressed the way the South African media and society as a whole dealt with the merger between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Agang and their respective female leaders, Helen Zille and Mamphela Ramphele.
The press conference was marked with a kiss between Zille and Ramphele, demonstrating their long friendship. But the panelists pointed out that the kiss soon became a meme, and was compared to acts of lesbianism and sexual provocation.
The merger soon failed but Davis noted that criticism of Zille and Ramphele made hay of the two leaders being women.
“Let’s face it, the DA-Agang merger was disastrous, but the fact that they were women should have been irrelevant.”
“This suggests that there is an illegitimacy to women owning the public space in South Africa,” said Davis.
Both the DA and Agang have also been criticized for being too “top heavy” with female leadership.
However, Davis said a political party with an all-male leadership is never recognized for its “weirdness” or criticized for being “too masculine”.
McKaiser believes that South African politics does not have a problem with a lack of female representation. He argues some of the best performing politicians are female, a fact that is often overlooked. McKaiser uses African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as an example of a woman succeeding in politics. But McKaiser adds that she has yet to make a public mistake and therefore has been spared gendered criticism.
Patel said she was personally pained by the gendered discourse used on women. “It is already hard for a woman to be in politics without these remarks hoisted on you.”
An example of this would be the press referring to Ramphele as “gogo”, a term which helped describe her as an old and confused woman, when she is actually younger than President Jacob Zuma. The fact that he is old is seen as a political advantage and an indicator of accumulated wisdom instead of senility, Patel said.
STORIFY: “Real jobs” march turns into real fight
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VIDEO VOX: What are Witsies voting for?
By Mia Swart and Pheladi Sethusa
SRC elections officially began yesterday. A steady stream of students entered the tents set up on Main campus throughout the day. It was a different story at Education campus. Wits Vuvuzela went out in search of potential voters to find out what they were looking for from the new leadership they would help to elect.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Wits Vuvuzela. GALLERY: Six easy steps to voting. August 27, 2013
- Wits Vuvuzela. Witsies on the eve of elections. August 26, 2013
About WCJ
We Should Be Writing podcast
- Bonus Episode: There's a Zille on my stoepSince her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]