Zimpapers Logo

CAPE TOWN. — Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande will not fall. But his image and political standing have been dented by the ongoing student protests, an expert said yesterday. Political analyst Daniel Silke told News24 that the minister’s standing had been weakened, and so had that of the South African Communist Party, of which he is the general secretary.

Silke said although there might be some in the ruling party who had been pleased at Nzimande being embarrassed by the violent student protests that have swept the country, he would not lose his cabinet post – at least not yet.

“We really have very little precedent in SA for cabinet ministers to be replaced following protests. We might yet see a cabinet reshuffle, but students themselves would have to be much more vocal on his position if it was to have any effect on the cabinet. For the moment, he will survive.”

Silke said if students merely reverted to calling for free education and were not focusing too much on Nzimande, then he would not be under too much scrutiny. He said he did not foresee a replacement.

Eastern Cape political analyst Dr Joleen Steyn-Kotze agreed. She said as a result of Nzimande’s handling of the protests, however, youths would now no longer be willing to take empty promises at face value, which would affect the ruling party at the polls.

“He downplayed the strength of the protests. He made inappropriate responses about students. The question is not whether he will survive, but how the future of the ANC at the polls will be affected by the protests.

“Educated youth have found they can embark on protests to hold government accountable,” Steyn-Kotze said.

Silke said students needed a minister who could understand their grievances and empathise with them. He said at the moment, they did not have that as cabinet ministers were too distanced from the people. The analysts’ views were echoed by opposition parties, who felt that Nzimande was too politically connected to be removed just yet.

On Friday, President Jacob Zuma announced that university fees for next year would not be increased, after country-wide protests by students which sometimes turned violent.

Meanwhile, City Press reports that the crisis in tertiary student funding will finally be thrashed out in Parliament this week.

Today, the Democratic Alliance is likely to raise some heat when it submits proposals to the standing committee on appropriations to amend the national budget to fund the shortfall in funding amid the zero-fee increment agreement reached on Friday. The DA estimated the amount to be R2,7 billion

Arguing that Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene had missed the opportunity to address the funding crisis in his medium-term budget policy statement last Wednesday, the DA has begun the process of amending the budget through the committee. It has already submitted a letter to committee chair Paul Mashatile declaring its intention and asking for assistance. — News24/City Press.