ANCYL locks horns with Nzimande
THE rift between the ANC Youth League and SA Communist Party widened yesterday after the youth league accused Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande of failing to implement free education at tertiary institutions.
The latest round in the fight between the two came as the SACP upped the ante on President Jacob Zuma for his leadership of the ANC and country in the wake of the poor performance in the local elections.
The fallout between Zuma and the SACP, who were his staunch supporters, has been deepening since it declared war on the socalled premier league faction.
SACP spokesman Alex Mashilo accused ANCYL secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza of using educational matters to fight factional battles within the ANC.
Mashilo told Sowetan that the youth league was targeting Nzimande instead of writing to President Jacob Zuma to increase funding to higher education for free education to be achieved.
“Unless the president in that capacity ensures that sufficient resources are made available to the Higher Education Department it will continue to be constrained.
“To personalise this and try and make it a problem created by comrade Blade Nzimande in his capacity as leader of the department is to be factional,” he said.
“The factional agenda that is calculated to exploit the situation in higher education to try and isolate Nzimande will not succeed.”
Earlier, Nzuza told Nzimande in an open letter to urgently implement the decision of the ANC national executive committee for a 0% fee increment. He warned that “any form of increment is not acceptable and should not be considered or talked about”.
Nzuza said he wrote to Nzimande because private discussions were not bearing fruit.
He said Nzimande had to stop messages of doubt of the ANC’s policy on free education.
“The implementation of free quality education for the poor is not an issue that is up for discussion but for implementation with speed …
“We can no longer accept tortoise velocity in dealing with these issues.”