A South Africa not captured

From Page 3

Ramaphosa recognised that the leaders of South Africa had failed to live up to the dreams of liberation. Using the vocabulary of the economic sector he said, “Our democracy Is not paying dividends… you must demand more from leadership.”

He said students have a right to demand that the country his generation will bequeath to them “should be a South Africa that functions, should be a South Africa that is free of corruption. It should be a South Africa that has not been captured by anyone. If it has been captured it must be captured by you. because it is your South Africa and it is your future”.

He noted the parallel between the students of today who demand that fees must fall and the struggle of their fathers who fought against apartheid.

He encouraged the students to insist on their demands so that we can begin the second phase of our transition.

He accepted that his generation of political leaders has done things in government “which could be derailing the democratic project that you bought so much into” and appealed to the students to “reclaim your South Africa”.

Ramaphosa also addressed the students' concerns about Eurocentric curricula at universities. He told the story of his daughter who is studying architecture at university and complained that they always have to learn about European architecture, whereas she wanted to study African buildings such as those in Timbuktu and the Great Zimbabwe.

He supported his daughter’s aspirations and those of the students who demanded the decolonisation of the subjects taught at university. He appealed to students to work towards a new curriculum that is relevant to the people of Africa.