LETTERS | June 16 is a day of mourning — and celebration

Five decades have passed since that fateful but horrifically tragic day of June 16 1976.

The children of 1976, particularly the children of Soweto, rose as one, stood firm, and with stones and running feet reclaimed their agency without waiting for someone to come and rescue them.

They took charge of their futures and fought against the inequities of Bantu education, which was foisted upon them.

Their strength reverberated with the most powerful force, to be realised almost two decades later when democracy and freedom visited a land besieged by oppression and discrimination.

The image of a bleeding Hector Pieterson being carried in the arms of a fellow student, Mbuyisa Makhubo, accompanied by his sister Antoinette, is etched for all eternity in the annals of struggle history.

It’s a picture that tells a story of an era of death and mayhem but also of a rising phoenix soaring to the glorious renaissance on April 27 1994.

The Soweto uprising was a catalyst that sparked unrest throughout South Africa for months. By the end of February 1977, 575 deaths had resulted from the countrywide protests.

Police used teargas, batons and live ammunition, shooting indiscriminately into throngs of defenceless children.

June 16 is an iconic date of commemoration, but paradoxically it is a day of celebration also.

While drenched in the loss of human lives, June 16 can only be measured in what it meant for the future of South Africa — freedom, democracy, equal rights, justice and a society unbound by the travesties and inequities of demeaning legislative racial discrimination.

— Narendh Ganesh, Durban North

Civic groups should shun party politics

South Africans are becoming increasingly frustrated with the state of our democracy. Corruption scandals continue to emerge, service delivery failures persist, infrastructure is crumbling in many municipalities and unemployment remains stubbornly high. The numerous commissions of inquiry over the years have exposed wrongdoing on a grand scale, yet meaningful accountability often appears elusive.

Against this backdrop, it is understandable that some civic organisations are considering entering electoral politics. Many activists believe that if politicians are failing to solve problems, then civic leaders should step into government themselves.

While this frustration is understandable, I believe this would be a mistake.

The strength of a civic organisation lies precisely in the fact that it is not a political party. A civic movement can challenge any government, regardless of which party is in power. It can oppose bad decisions and support good ones without worrying about votes, coalitions, election campaigns or political survival. Its loyalty is to the community, not to a party manifesto.

Recent events in Cape Town demonstrate this clearly. The successful legal challenge to the municipality’s controversial fixed service charges showed what organised civic action can achieve. Ratepayer organisations, property owners’ groups and community activists were able to force the municipality to account for its decisions. They achieved this without contesting a single election or occupying a single council seat.

Political parties come and go. Governments rise and fall. But a strong civil society remains a permanent check on power

—  Rajen Maharaj, Chatsworth

More recently, the March and March movement succeeded in drawing public attention to concerns surrounding undocumented immigration. Whether one agrees with its position or not, the campaign demonstrated the power of organised citizens to influence public debate and place issues firmly on the national agenda without entering electoral politics.

During the struggle against apartheid, many civic organisations rejected participation in institutions they believed lacked legitimacy. Instead, they organised communities, mobilised public opinion and built powerful grassroots movements. Their influence came not from parliamentary representation but from their ability to unite ordinary citizens around a common cause. That lesson remains relevant today.

This is why the reported intention of the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement to enter party politics deserves careful consideration. The movement has earned public support because it has positioned itself as an independent voice for residents. It has been able to unite people from different political backgrounds around shared concerns such as rates, service delivery, accountability and municipal governance.

Once it becomes a political party, that broad appeal may begin to narrow. Residents who support different political parties may no longer see it as a neutral platform representing community interests. The movement risks becoming another participant in South Africa’s already crowded political landscape.

Political parties come and go. Governments rise and fall. But a strong civil society remains a permanent check on power.

— Rajen Maharaj, Chatsworth

Students better off without NSFAS

Tebogo Letsie’s article, “We need NSFAS more than ever” (June 7), refers. As chair of the portfolio committee on higher education & training in parliament, I assume Letsie has access to a vast amount of data on the work of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and its failures. I’m sure he must have read and/or listened to more stories of failure by the NSFAS than success.

First, there are many black professionals who received no financial assistance from the NSFAS or the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (Tefsa) but made it through their efforts and support of their families. I happen to be one of them.

Second, a call for the shutdown of the NSFAS must be separated from the justification for funding needy students in higher education.

The NSFAS model introduced a bureaucratic system that adds no value but instead appoints service providers to distribute funding to students, tertiary institutions and landlords. Unfortunately some of the service providers are owned by individuals with political connections, and no wonder there is so much resistance to the call for change.

Closing the NSFAS will ensure that financial resources are channelled directly to the tertiary institutions to accommodate needy students. The National Treasury can work with tertiary institutions to ensure an effective system for managing student funding. The tertiary education of black students will be better off without the NSFAS.

— Bonga Mthembu, Cape Town

A political foul against Iran

Sport is routinely presented as a neutral arena where politics is set aside. Yet the treatment of Iran’s national football team exposes how quickly that principle collapses when geopolitical interests take precedence. Reports that Iranian players have been instructed to enter and leave the US on the same day as their matches reveal that even global sporting events are not insulated from political exclusion.

Conveniently overlooked is the contradiction at the heart of such measures. International tournaments are promoted as celebrations of unity, cultural exchange and equal participation.

Restricting athletes to tightly controlled movements while other teams enjoy normal access exposes a hierarchy of treatment shaped by political considerations rather than sporting principles.

Security establishments, political actors and media institutions all contribute to normalising exceptional measures against states designated as adversaries.

Policies that would attract widespread condemnation if applied to allies are often presented as reasonable when directed at geopolitical rivals.

— Iqbal Jassat, Media Review Network

Sound advice for jobseekers

What sound advice from Sasha Knott in her opinion piece in Business Times, “Why young jobseekers need to make their own opportunities” (June 7). Knott spells out clearly what lies in store for young South Africans preparing for the job market. It’s not going to be easy because of the scarcity, but armed with the right attitude and credentials there will be hope on the horizon, not gloom and doom.

— Brijlall Ramguthee, Newlands