UWC protesters need responsible leaders
T IS difficult to apportion blame in this instance. There are indeed infrastructure problems in some areas, but the fact remains water is a finite resource: we cannot make more of it, we can only learn to use it more effectively.
According to Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, 98 percent of South Africa’s water is already allocated and, as a result, behavioural change is needed. “We need to reuse. We need to use it effectively. We need to work together.”
Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana has given warning of livestock losses and crop failures: “This drought can only worsen the hunger and poverty problem. The country may face the need to import grains.”
A risk specialist has warned that other business sectors, such as energy and manufacturing, are vulnerable too. “While it may seem an inconvenience for consumers, communities need to ration water consumption in order for the reservoirs and streams to be replenished,” he said.
Everyone will be affected by the effects of the drought. During the electricity crisis, we could turn to alternative energy sources, but there is no substitute for water.
Use it wisely, your life depends on it. IT IS with a heavy heart that I have put pen to paper.
Last Wednesday, I was in a meeting at our faculty of education, discussing with an international funder a proposal to support candidates in an envisaged new doctoral programme.
Ten minutes into the start of the meeting, there were sounds of a scuffle, and a group of terrified young women students ran into the first floor passage seeking refuge where our meeting was taking place.
This was followed by the sounds of shattering glass, the thuds of bins being overturned, and fencing being trampled.
Looking down from the first floor windows as we hurriedly adjourned our meeting, we observed a group of young people, some with masked faces, running between the buildings and hurling rocks in their wake.
Emerging from the room, we made our way through a smoke-filled staircase to the exit – the contents of strewn rubbish bins in the foyer, the bins smouldering.
Upon exiting, we found about 10 unarmed security personnel who had been controlling access to the building that morning, standing by the perimeter fencing which had been torn down.
They had not been able to react to the group moving swiftly past the education block and the school for public health, in the direction of the new life sciences building, and they stood silently by.
To her credit, our overseas visitor remained very calm, but I was shaken at the scenes of destruction that confronted us as we made our way off campus.
Our new buildings – the source of such pride and evidence of how far UWC had come – stood damaged and vulnerable, flames pouring out of bins along the way – an apocalyptic spectacle.
In the aftermath of such an afternoon and the events that followed, one could easily resort to simplistic explanations and apportion blame, which I want to avoid at this time.
Amid conflicting emotions, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of deep sadness at the realisation that what can take so much blood, sweat and tears to construct, both the material and the immaterial, can so easily be torn down.
What will it take to rebuild our unity of purpose, and keep constant a reminder of where we have come from and what it took to get to this point?
How do we enable the next generation to maintain their passion for justice but also to respect the hard-won freedoms obtained through the struggles of their parents?
Our research shows that around 3 million youth between 18 and 25 years of age in South Africa are not in education or employment, many of whom have limited access to opportunities for various reasons.
Recent research also confirms that any form of tertiary education increases the possibility for economic mobility, notwithstanding the tough economic climate.
There can be no question that our students have to complete their qualifications and seek out the opportunities that these will afford them, not least of which will be their role as torch-bearers for a generation who will follow them.
For this reason, responsible leadership across political persuasions and narrow self-interests must be exercised in order to convince our students of the obligation to complete their studies and create the space for others, many of whom are writing matric at present.
Calls being made by community leaders and others, asking students to return to their studies and complete their 2015 examinations, are to be welcomed.