CAPE TOWN, October 26 (ANA) – The #FeesMustFall movement issued a call in the early hours of Wednesday for protest action at Parliament where Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was set to table the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
“We call upon all citizens of this country to descend to parliament and other strategic institutions on 26 October 2016 which has been declared as the national day of action,†the movement said in a statement.
The movement reiterated a set of demands to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, which include “free Afrocentric education up until undergraduate degree a reality for all excluded black peopleâ€, an “end to outsourcing of services at universities†and the “demilitarisation†of campuses.
The movement maintained that the current curriculum was designed to ensure the oppression of the country’s black majority and accused the government of doing little to alter the socio-economic structures of the apartheid state.
The last MTBPS, delivered by then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, saw unprecedented scenes at Parliament as students entered the precinct in numbers and fought running battles with riot police.
Meanwhile, UCT Vice Chancellor, Dr Max Price, said the University could show solidarity with the students by participating various ways in the activities surrounding the budget speech.
Three public protests have been approved by the City of Cape Town. These are the UCT staff unions, the Fees Must Fall Movement and the UCT SRC as well as the DA.
The picket and the marches are all limited to 1000 people.
"Members of the UCT executive will participate in the UCT Employees Union picket. We invite staff and students to show their support for the cause of greater state funding for higher education and more affordable education for all by participating in one or other of the protests," said Dr Price.
African News Agency (ANA)
Additional reporting: Algoa FM News
