Reitz Hostel Closure 29-05-08

 

COSATU FREE STATE PRESS STATEMENT ON THE CLOSURE OF REITZ HOSTEL IN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

As COSATU in the province we welcome the decision of the University of the Free State to close the Reitz Hostel. This just goes to show that although we were ridiculed, we were right all along to demand that the hostel should be closed. The management has finally done the correct thing and closed the hostel. It is not however as if the management has performed a miracle like walking on water; therefore there is no need to celebrate yet. The Reitz Hostel should not have existed in the first place; therefore its closure has always been an eventuality.

We do not agree with the management that the Reitz Video is, or was, an isolated incident. The federation, in the march on March 14, 2008, brought to the attention of management an incident where white students offered a spiked drink to a black worker. When the drink took effect the students then went to Prestige management to report that one worker is 'drunk on duty'. The said employee was summarily dismissed. The said employee is still outside his job today. Therefore the selective recollection of incidents by management, to the effect that they declare this to be an isolated incident is both misplaced and misleading, particularly to the public which is not aware of all these incidents.

It is incorrect to indicate that the students were barred from the University. What actually happened is that those students who were deregistered were ashamed of their deeds and under pressure even offered to establish a fund with their registration fees for the dependants of the affected workers which, was declined by the affected workers. The University is now claiming undue credit and misleading the community again for something they failed to act on.

The University makes a commitment that it will 'transform itself over time to a beacon of hope. "We have declared that the University is capable of many things but transforming itself is neither here nor there for them. The management of the University is not capable of transforming the institution unless they can start first by fully disclosing why they have failed to transform in the past fourteen years and what has changed which would make them then sudden messiahs to save the University from the seeds of racism which they have nurtured over the years. They have created this monster and now that it is about to swallow them they plead for assistance by putting our trust in them. Why did they betray our trust in the first place and what would prevent them from doing it again? The management must also go!

The Rector of the University, Prof. Fourie, has brought the University, the Province and the Country into disrepute, by allowing racism to breed right under his nose. He must therefore do the only honourable thing left and bow out! The university must therefore dismiss him; otherwise they are setting a bad precedent!

We believe that time is now right to engage with the management of the University and will therefore be proposing a meeting with them to deal with the rest of our demands in the memorandum.

The University council has also failed to monitor the transformation process which has bee nicely documented in their policy documents since 1996, when the University started to 'transform'. The University Council is therefore guilty by its actions or omissions to act to monitor and such has disgraced the institution, the province and the country. Therefore the Council should be disbanded, as it allowed racism, which is the worst form of discrimination, to be bred under their noses the Council must therefore do an honourable (if any is left) thing and bow out disgracefully.

ISSUED BY COSATU FREE STATE

Enquiries: Provincial Secretary; Sam Mashinini 082 563 6954