UNIVERSITIES have begun tallying the cost of this year‘s #FeesMustFall protests, with one estimate placing property damage alone at R1-billion.Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande estimated in September that property damage was around R600-million since the beginning of the 2015 fees protests.The police have confirmed spending over R3-million on overtime in Gauteng alone. They would not provide figures for the overtime bills in other provinces.‘‘People must not just equate it to a lot of money spent … but consider how much damage students would have caused if the police weren‘t there,” said Thapelo Moiloa, spokesman for the Gauteng department of community safety. “It was necessary and it was money well spent.”‘‘Police resources have been stretched. We have had to bring in officers from other police stations. We have had to put aside other priorities to focus on the protests. There will be a lot of backlogs to deal with,” said Moiloa.The SA Special Risk Insurance Association has...
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