Officials’ absence almost ruins march
What was supposed to be a peaceful march organised by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) against nepotism and corruption allegedly taking place at the Mpumalanga College of Nursing, almost turned ugly after health officials took their time to receive the memorandum.
KABOKWENI – What was supposed to be a peaceful march organised by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) against nepotism and corruption allegedly taking place at the Mpumalanga College of Nursing, almost turned ugly after health officials took their time to receive the memorandum.
This happened on Friday when a number of EFF members marched to the college to protest against alleged irregularities.
This party had earlier arranged with the Department of Health that it would hand over a memorandum, but on the day of the march, there were no officials, which angered some of the EFF members who even threatened to forcefully enter the premises.
However, this was prevented when an official from the department was called from a meeting and rushed to the college to receive the memorandum.
“All that we ask for is fair play when it comes to recruiting suitable candidates to study at this institution and in all other state-funded institutions in the province and country in general.
Education will always remain a fundamental cornerstone for our people and in helping them raise their standard of living.
“It is for this reason that we are here today to ask the department to practice fair play and consider other students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” said EFF’s member of National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Yanus Vawda who presented the memorandum.
The department was given 30 days to respond. “We are going to make sure that the department responds to the memorandum within the 30-day period.
If it fails to do so, we are going to mobilise our members and we will come here in numbers and cause mayhem never seen in this province before. We are prepared to go to the streets until our demands are met, because what is happening at this college is a disgrace and an insult to our democracy.
“We cannot allow other political parties to manipulate the system by submitting names of candidates in branch meetings,” said Mr Collen Sedibe, the party’s member of provincial legislature.
