Introduction
The EFFSC in the
University of Fort Hare attained a majority in the SRC on the 18th of October
2023. In that intervening period, there have been memorable wins which will go
down as longstanding and memorable wins given the nature of challenges. We have
never strayed from the revolutionary path even though we are revolutionary
enough to admit that mistakes were made along the way. A truly revolutionary
party is a party that can make mistakes, is not afraid of making mistakes, and
acknowledges when it makes a mistake. Our journey has been such a journey,
however, the EFFSC Led-SRC has demonstrated that it has the power to not only
correct its mistakes, but to correct them flawlessly. This article will delve
deeper into some of the victories that the EFFSC Led-SRC has notched up in its
tenure as a majority in the SRC institutionally.
The
Victories: Hall of Fame
1. #VOETSEKNORRACO
The termination of
the Direct Payment System (DPS) is one victory that we will constantly parade
and articulate to the public as a victory that was in its core driven by the
EFFSC in the grassroots, and at the SRC level, the EFFSC-led SRC championed its
termination. This was a conclusion of a yearlong struggle which had gripped the
entire sector. The role played by the SRC Secretary-General during that period
(Fighter Yamkela Situnda) ensured that we manage to coordinate a national
response to the matter at an SRC level. This led us to a point whereby the
Pilot Project crisis converged with crisis stemming from Direct Payment. It got
to a point whereby a national shutdown was threatened, with the CSCT of the
EFFSC preparing for a meeting of all its SRC Deployees to ensure maximum
national unity. However, the former Minister, Blade Nzimande countered the
impending National shutdown by dissolving the NSFAS board, placing NSFAS under
administration, and pushing NSFAS to announce immediate termination of the contracts
with the 4 bogus fintech companies. This has given momentum to the payment of
outstanding allowances for 2023 with 2 payments being made already for the
students who are owed by NSFAS. We are pushing for more payments to come
through because we have realised that not everyone has received what is due to
them.
2. Course-Codes
The EFFSC Led-SRC
has managed to strategically and tactically ensure that 19 course codes are
aligned to the DHET HEMIS and NSFAS HEMIS system which in previous years had
seen many students being defunded. This initial number were 5 course codes
which were mainly in the Faculty of Management & Commerce in the current
year, however, upon the consistent pressure we applied as a collective which is
majority EFFSC, we not only managed to resolve the year adjustments for the 5
initial course codes that were identified but for 19 in total across all
faculties. This was proof to us that DHET and NSFAS do not have integrated
systems with the University, and as such this reality creates a crisis within
an already existing crisis of a lack of funding for many cohorts of students.
The EFFSC-Led SRC is now in the final stages of ensuring that funding status
adjustments are underway, in the coming week this will be pursued vigorously
given that the targeted month for disbursement was the month of September,
after this matter was resolved in late August.
3. Review of
Close-out process towards a more inclusive Close-out process
By ensuring that
we successfully resolve the course codes, we have successfully triggered a
process which will see the close out process being reviewed to be inclusive of
other years from around 2018 - 2024, to ensure that all debts are cleared and
to be specifically inclusive of the students who were affected by course codes.
This will see a lot of debts cleared, and a lot of students receiving their
degree certificates. This process will ensure that all who owe the institution
due to course codes, are no longer owing. Will continue to pester NSFAS about
this, even though we are aware that this might even affect some aspects of the
SIU investigation which is underway.
4. Learners
License Programme
Since 2019, the
EFFSC has advocated for a learner's license programme which will equip students
with learner's license and enable them to do a driver's license. This programme
was pioneered in Alice with Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality before it was
even implemented in East London campus in conjunction with Buffalo City
Metropolitan Municipality. We can reliably confirm that the MOU has been signed
by BCMM, with the institution yet to confirm receipt of the signed MOU, and the
signing thereof. Speculation is that the institution is planning a grand
ceremony whereby the Vice-Chancellor will sign. However, we are clear that this
MOU must be signed immediately instead of it being reserved to be signed on
some distant day when some students who can benefit from it should be
benefitting from it. Obviously, the programme will need a proper rollout and
modalities which include instructors, and tutors who will assist students
prepare for their learner's exam. We hope that the students will give us
another mandate to finish what we started.
Conclusion
The aim of this
article was not to provide a lengthy read on our victories but provide a
straight to the point read which will demystify, and clarify the victories, and
the current challenges we are facing to ensure we deliver things in totality
and not in parts, even though material conditions this year have been pushing
us to win in phases. Amilcar Cabral teaches us to claim no easy victories, mask
no failures, and tell no lies. We have never lied or claimed easy victories as
that would be anti-Marxist. We are in the long fight for a total victory
against capitalism, but the revolutionary process is not an overnight process.
We have realised as many other revolutionaries realised that building a
revolutionary society is not an easy task. The birth pains of building a system
which is inclusive, progressive, and revolutionary have been felt in some
sections, while some have misinterpreted these as pains of the opposite. Karl
Marx once posited that force is the midwife of the revolution, therefore
suggesting that the transition from one society requires force for it to be successful,
due to the existing force of the ruling class which maintains bourgeois law and
order. We have witnessed this force, and we realise that for the next phase of
our struggle, the boardroom will slowly become a site of struggle that will not
be enough to win some victories, and we will require many more mass
demonstrations to get our point across. However, to build such a radical
environment, we must decisively defeat all counterrevolutionary elements by
persuading students to give us another mandate by pointing to these victories
and more. We must continue to mobilise students towards voting for the
EFFSC on the 19th of September 2024 so that we can continue the
revolutionary process.
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