COMRADE PREMIER, SEFORA NTOMBELA

“Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children. . .”
~ Amilcar Cabral.

Madam premier i pen this open letter knowing too well that there is a high possibility that you may not even read it and even if you do read it i know it will be viewed as a personal attack on you and your leadership. Even if you may not be of this view but your self appointed spokespersons and political henchmens are bound to and i take no offence to that.

I take no offence because i understand way too well the level of political degeneration we ought to contend with here in the province, political degeneration that has been made core politics by those whose politics are influenced by the stomach, patronage, proximity, and cult like following. However comrade premier this is merely constructive criticism from a concerned young person of your province.

Madam premier despite the sad state of affairs in the free state political diaspora i do not write to you in relation to that, its a state of affairs that will require that each comrade self reflects and ultimately self corrects. I however pen this letter to you in your capacity as the premier of the Free State Province, Honorable Comrade Premier i have noted the partnership you have formed with the National Students Financial Scheme (NSFAS) for them to come down to free state and roll out a massive campaign of NSFAS applications around the province. As per the poster from your office inviting people to the launch of the program the purpose of the partnership is to “drive up NSFAS applications towards improving access to institutions of higher education”.

Comrade Premier let me first acknowledge the pivotal role played NSFAS in improving access to institutions of higher learning and its overall contribution in our governments responsibility of addressing the imbalances of the past and eradicating poverty through education. It does appear to me and maybe to others too who are unable to speak up that the office of the honorable Premier is out of touch with the livid realities of our young people in particular those who have completed matric.

Comrade Premier the multitude of former COSAS members (Scholars) who have swelled our streets, sheebens and bars are not there because they were unable to apply for NSFAS! These young people are wallowing in the same trap that their uneducated counterparts and those who were sadly unable to complete matric are wallowing in because of lack of access to institutions of higher learning themselves not funding to go to those institutions. Comrade Premier what we have in the Free State Province at this current moment are dozens of young people who are seating at home with approved NSFAS funding, these young people have even lost hope of going to institutions of higher learning to apply because for years now they have been subjected to rejection by these institutions, rejection that does not emanate from them not meeting the admission requirements but rejection that emanates from the lack of space in these institutions to meet the demand that grows yearly.

Comrade Premier one would expect that the office of the Premier would understand and know this but its evident the youth adviser in your office is divorced from the plight of our black young people who live in sqoulars as they are the primary beneficiaries of NSFAS if we can even call them beneficiaries seeing they are unable to utilise that funding. Comrade Premier what you and your office are doing is setting up our young people for rejection, depression and even suicide!! Furthermore the office of the Premier is wasting money on wrong programs!!

Comrade Premier if indeed you want to increase access to institutions of higher learning for the youth of Free State then partner up with the few institutions of higher learning we have in the province so they open more campuses or satellite campuses around the free state!! Its absolutely futal and wasteful to increase access to NSFAS while our institute are incapable of registering a quarter of the matriculants we produce in one academic year!!

Comrade Premier what we need are more institutions of higher learning in this province, that is what hampers the ability of our young people to get tertiary education not funding!! We have Progressive Youth Organizations and YDO offices which have been doing a sterling work in assisting young people to apply for NSFAS across the province what we need is for your office to complement their good work by partnering with institutions of higher learning to open more campuses across the Free State Province not for you to run competing programs with them!!

Comrade Premier i would advice you if i could to sack whoever is your youth adviser for what is clearly a failure to correctly advice your office in its response to the plight of the youth of our province. Comrade Premier partnering up with these institutions of higher learning will not just help you achieve your goal of ramping up access to higher education but it will equally create short term employment opportunities for young people as these institutions go about renovating or building new facilities to uses as campuses, post this exercise these new campuses or satellite campuses will then create a number of permanent jobs. This comrade premier is what we call efficient spending of governments money, mouring two birds with one stone, transforming lives of young people through employment to tackle our province’s unemployment crise and also create much neccesary access to higher education.

“Hide nothong from the masses of our people. Tell no lies.expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories.”
~Amilcar Cabral

Thabiso Mabaso is the provincial secretary of COSAS Free State, a member in good standing of the ANC and ANCYL. He writes in his personal capacity as a youth activist and concerned young person in Free State.