Durban - The ANC-aligned student organisation Sasco is losing support at University of KwaZulu-Natal campuses, with the EFF Student Command and the DA Student Organisation gaining considerable ground.
Although Sasco retained clear control of the Howard College, Nelson Mandela Medical School and Westville campuses, preliminary results showed it had lost the Edgewood and Pietermaritzburg campuses to a coalition of various student bodies.
The university was expected to release the results officially this afternoon.
The EFFSC, IFP-aligned Sadesmo and individual student candidates competed in the elections under the guise of the SA Youth Against Climate Change Coalition (SAYCCC) at Pietermaritzburg, and as part of a coalition with IFP-aligned Sadesmo at Edgewood in Pinetown.
SAYCCC won 6 seats in Pietermaritzburg.
SAYCCC member Thando Luthuli said the group comprised of ordinary students, leaders of the EFFSC and Sadesmo.
The development shows growth for the EFFSC and Daso, which only last year won their first seat at the Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses respectively, while Sasco dominated in all the campuses and controlled 8 seats in the Central SRC.
A year later, Sasco has lost three seats and now has 5 seats, while the EFFSC has 4 seats and the Daso, 1 seat.
Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni described the results as a “democratic breakthrough”.
“For the first time, UKZN is being contested politically. Other political parties are making inroads at UKZN and are proving to be an alternative voice for students.
“I did note the atmosphere; it did seem there was higher participation, and when you look at the provisional results, we are looking at 3 000 from each campus,” he said.
Mnguni said it appeared there was a “live and vibrant political landscape” shift on campuses, and this would bode well for producing politically tolerant citizens who understood the processes of democratic participation.
Asked how much of an impact the #FeesMustFall protests had on the EFFSC’s gains, he said: “At a campus like Pietermaritzburg, where you had long engagement with #FeesMustFall protests, you have also seen the SAYCCC, which was a culmination of what has been happening at #FeesMustFall. The #FeesMustFall has played a role in people understanding the need for alliances and co-operating with other organisations, while Sasco remains inward within the Progressive Youth Alliance.”
EFFSC student leader Nathi Phetha who contested at the Howard College campus, where they won 2 seats to Sasco’s 5, said their gains were because of putting students first. “The reality is that the EFFSC has been leading the struggle of students outside the SRC,” he said.
Phetha said at the top of their agenda was ensuring no students were financially excluded next year, and resolving the issue of renaming of buildings with colonial symbolism and removing the King George V statue on the Howard College campus.
DA Councillor Nicole Graham, who was tasked with providing support to Daso, said the higher voter turnout showed there was support for other student organisations, and said Sasco had been complicit in blocking other student organisations from contesting elections.
“There is growth of competition, which is far more beneficial to the students,” she said.
“It is very interesting. This is indicative that the stranglehold Sasco had was because of lower voter turnout. We are looking to consolidate in our structures, and we are looking forward to contest on all 5 campuses,” she said.
KZN Sasco chairman Lwandile Mtsolo said they acknowledged the decrease and said the biggest challenge was the EFFSC and BLF alliance to run as SAYCCC at Pietermaritzburg, and an EFFSC and Sadesmo alliance at Edgewood.
“We have been affected due to the voter turnout, but we will persist and restrategise,” he said.
However, he said the EFFSC was incorrectly claiming two of its members who ran as individual candidates as their own.
He said they were engaging with the two candidates, who both won seats, to vote with Sasco and not the EFFSC.
“They are individuals who ran as individuals, but they are members of the ANC Youth League and Sasco. They are our members, we are engaging with them and as far as we know, they have not joined EFF or Sadesmo,” he said.
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