Cape Town - Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) student activists have suggested that rogue factions, or a third force, could be responsible for the destruction of a Jammie Shuttle bus.
RMF has distanced itself from recent incidents at UCT, which have been widely condemned, saying destructive behaviour goes against their principle of “high discipline”.
The movement, which supports student-worker alliances involved with the #FeesMustFall and #EndOutsourcing campaigns, also came under fire after a senate meeting was disrupted earlier this week.
“We definitely did not set that bus alight. It would make no sense for us to burn that shuttle. You have to take into account the frustration of the workers and students at UCT.
“There are talks of the possibility that rogue factions and third forces are to blame, which could make sense because people are frustrated,” said RMF spokesperson Alex Hendricks.
He referred to an agreement between UCT management and the National Education, Heath and Workers Union (Nehawu) for it to end the outsourcing of workers at the institution.
Some workers feel Nehawu signed the agreement in haste as certain clauses relating to terms of employment were “problematic”.
Hendricks said UCT vice-chancellor Max Price had also refused to allow workers time off to attend plenary meetings to air their grievances and make a new proposal. Price and Nehawu have made it clear that their agreement to “insource” some workers within the next six months and all workers by 2019 still stands.
UCT spokesperson Gerda Kruger confirmed a Jammie Shuttle bus was set alight in the early hours on wednesday.
“The fire department quickly extinguished the blaze, but the bus was destroyed. The bus was empty and at the depot at the time. Nobody was injured,” she said.
Students affected by the incident were asked to contact UCT communications officer Charmaine Dublin for assistance.
“There has been some response from students and parents, who have been assured that additional security is in place,” Dublin said.
@carlo_petersen
Cape Times
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