DA calls for leadership during student crisis
The DA has called for calm and restraint by both the South African police and student protesters in the wake of a day which saw hundreds of students breach security at the Parliamentary precinct in Cape Town and clash with police.
Students around South Africa have been protesting against the exorbitant cost of higher education, rejecting proposed fee increases for 2016.
On Wednesday police used teargas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against students in Port Elizabeth and in Cape Town where hundreds of students had forced their way onto the premises of Parliament, where Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was delivering his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS).
“The critical nature of the situation demands decisive leadership and an urgent response from President Jacob Zuma,” the DA said in a statement on Wednesday night. “Government cannot remain silent any longer.
“In an astounding failure of leadership on the part of the government, today, Minister Nene failed to address the funding crisis in his budget, offering no relief to students. The President now has no option but to make a commitment to the nation on how this issue will be addressed.
“We urge President Zuma to address the nation as a matter of urgency in order to restore calm.”