AfriForum says it only hopes Panyaza Lesufi will stop attacking Afrikaans

Lobby group AfriForum said it hoped that reinstated Gauteng MEC for education Panyaza Lesufi would solve other problems “and stop attacking Afrikaans”.

SowetanLive reports that the group’s project coordinator for education‚ Carien Bloem, said AfriForum had been shocked by Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s decision to reinstate Lesufi in the portfolio.

For the Afrikaans community, Lesufi’s reinstatement is not good news, AfriForum reportedly said, with Bloem saying the announcement came as a big shock for the group.

Bloem was quoted as saying that the group felt that the MEC for education Makhura had announced on Wednesday, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, would have been a breath of fresh air for the portfolio.

She added that it was not good that Lesufi “didn’t hide the fact that he isn’t fond of Afrikaans people”.

Bloem said Lesufi’s reinstatement is not good news for the Afrikaans community, which, she said, feels targeted, explaining that this can be felt even when the MEC is briefing the media when he would say “the Dromedaris days are over”.

“We are left wondering what he means. He put a lot of pressure on Afrikaans,” Bloem was quoted as saying.

AfriForum is also concerned about some of the problems Lesufi failed to address, Bloem told the publication, which includes the mother tongue issue. She said it is a big problem that the medium of instruction in schools should be English, adding that the group felt strongly about its language, Afrikaans, just like anyone else feels about theirs.

“We can only hope that he will solve all the other problems and stop attacking Afrikaans. We need more schools‚ he must provide schools. He opened specialisation schools‚ so he must make that work too. And the glitches on the online application platform must be addressed‚ a lot of parents complained‚ not just Afrikaans, but across the board‚” Bloem was quoted as saying.

Makhura announced on Friday that Lesufi would be shifted back to education as its provincial MEC after it was announced on Wednesday that he would serve as the MEC for finance and e-government.

Makhura said this followed positive feedback on the composition of his new executive council, which he said combined experience with youthful energy, talent, better education and fresh ideas.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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