4 Politics
2 June 2015
Siyanda in his own words... What really motivated your resignation? I am emotionally attached to my work. Helping other people drives me and if I cannot offer that anymore, if people don’t have confidence in me, then emotionally I just shut down and obviously that affects my work. I believe in the SRC as an institution - that people come and go I understand that I am not bigger than the SRC itself. From the SRC I’ve grown and developed as a person so for the sake of that institution to remain as an institution and so that the next SRC can benefit from that institution as I have benefitted [I chose to leave]. I called an emergency meeting at 6pm and told them “I am the bad apple”. So I removed myself so the institution could continue. The decision was coming. I have had two emotional break downs during Rhodes Must Fall. I consider myself a very strong person, I never thought I would have a breakdown. I’m from a very stable family: my mom and dad live under the same roof, it’s a very happy space, you know? And although you’re in a team of 14 other people in the SRC with a great advisor - Mr Ofei - and two other team members, no one understands the
position as President. It’s very lonely up there although you have these other support structures. On two separate occasions my parents had to come to Grahamstown. I was never prepared for the position itself. Not by being academic councilor last year. No one could have thought that it would turn out this way and so the resignation was forthcoming. I had confidence and hope that people, the student body, were supporting me so when I tweeted that then it was the final stroke for me leading up to the resignation. When I turned around and there was no one following me then it became problematic for me. Then I didn’t see myself as leader and it was fitting for me to step down. I had a meeting with the ViceChancellor (VC) - a very emotional meeting too - I said to the VC it’s a very difficult position to be in in this day and age. Number one I’m black so I’m already supposed to be relating to a number of issues certain members of the student body are raising and I concur with those issues but because of the position I hold, one needs to maintain the integrity of the office and that has been difficult. Differing ideologies on council made support for issues difficult and
this speaks to a council of liberal thought and not a council of political thought. I don’t like neutrality. I’m a ‘do’ person and I take decisions and I follow and defend those decisions. It’s not the fault of council, no one was forced - nothing in this constitution gives me the power as president to force decisions - that is an advantage and disadvantage of the SRC at RU, you know the fact that an SRC president finds himself powerless that itself has personal detrimental effects. Individually, in my own capacity I am a Pan-Africanist which already speaks to what my stance should be on a number of issues in the University. [I] had to compromise that personal position (due to the SRC’s neutrality). Does the SRC have the potential to affect any change because of the stance of neutrality? I got about 1500 votes but I don’t know who those people are so it’s very difficult to gauge what the masses want and what their views and beliefs are. You need to be very careful because the last thing you want to do is upset the electorate. However, in my days as President I have always said, because we don’t know who we’re leading, it is better
that we engage in dialogues to understand where the student body comes from and I’m very happy that we went with that route. Before, there were some councilors who felt ‘let’s put this to a vote’- but then you have to understand the moral obligations of a majoritarian vote. If we have had to take a vote right now, I’m very confident that 70% of the student body will say no to the name change. So one needs to interrogate this majoritarian route - is it really right? We should be taking very bold and courageous decisions. Decisions that will lead a student body to think in a certain way because that’s the power we hold. And the power we hold is to influence procedures within the University. We are the largest stakeholder in the university so once you have disturbances within the largest stakeholder then you have a problem with the university. We have the advantage to influence the student body and to open up discussions and one of the advantages of Rhodes is that we are a liberal university and we are able to convince each other of our conversations and our own experiences. We are able to listen and allow ourselves to be convinced. I’ve always been that person to say ‘let’s listen to the other side’.
I’ve been advocating for a political SRC. For it to happen, I would encourage the fellow political societies (who have issues themselves) on campus to run. Actually, I would encourage a coalition SRC. However, a political SRC also has its disadvantages, such as veto-ing within council. UCT’s SRC is an example. The SRC then becomes a huge substructure because more people are political. (Veto) does stem to slow progress. However a political SRC is also a powerful SRC that is able to lead, take decisions, and to a certain extent, hold management to account. This is because if I am SASCO, I am able to bring Gwede here and who is Gwede, he is ANC , and who is ANCthe government. And if I’m DASO I’m able to bring the big shots of DA… EFF etc etc. So this does help the student body to a certain extent. Are we ready for a political SRC? I don’t think so. I would like our political groups on campus to really establish themselves, to really understand what the SRC is, and how it works, understand the politics of Rhodes University and where Rhodes is right now. We’re not ready for a political SRC right now but I am advocating for one.
On 26 May 2015, Siyanda Makhubo resigned as the President of Rhodes University’s SRC. Following his resignation, he sat down with Activate’s Editor-in-Chief, Heather Cameron, for an interview where he discussed his decision to leave, explained his personal stance on transformation issues at Rhodes, and shared his thoughts on the importance of the SRC as an institution. Pic: Mitchell Parker.
From the Editor From the inauguration of Rhodes University’s first black ViceChancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela, to of a string of high profile resignations from Rhodes’ SRC and the upsurge of student activism amidst protests against slow transformation and issues of institutional culture on campus; the past six months have been a turbulent time for politics on Rhodes University campus.
It has been a time of change. It is arguably much needed change, and one of the largest, and most recent changes involved Siyanda Makhubo stepping down as SRC president. On 28 May, he resigned amidst controversy surrounding a tweet he posted. Following his resignation, the now former SRC President sat down with Activate to clear the air surrounding the
controversy, discuss his time as president, provide his thoughts on the future of the SRC, and lend his insight into issues of transformation on the Rhodes campus. While this is an exciting time for politics, it is also that time of the year when exams roll around. The Activate team wishes all students writing exams the best of luck and happy studying!