SA's political elite have lost the moral authority to solve social problems
We should learn from our past, especially the final days of apartheid — when political violence presented a real threat to the future of South Africa
Violent student protests continue to rock tertiary institutions in South Africa. The #FeesMustFall protests have left the nation divided and the authorities seemingly paralysed to deal with the demands.These protests have led to injury and even the death of a cleaner following the release of a fire extinguisher at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Classes have been disrupted and the Tertiary Education and Training Minister, Blade Nzimande, estimated that the cost of damages by end of September reached the R600-million mark. South Africans are asking where will this all end; but for now, no concrete solution seems to be in sight.The Higher Education Multi-Stakeholder imbizo and an address by President Jacob Zuma held on October 3 illustrate exactly how unequal the power relationships are between protestors and the state. In his recent Daily Maverick article, Greg Nicolson concludes that the imbizo "exposed the state’s arrogance, the minister’s and president’s refusal to li...
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