Young communists defend Makupula as EFF, Cosas join calls for him to quit

CALLS for the sacking of Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula are intensifying, while the Young Communist League (YCL) in Nelson Mandela Bay has come to the embattled MEC’s defence. The EFF is the latest to join the chorus of demands for Makupula to step down. Adding its voice to the debate, the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) has also called on the MEC to resign within two weeks, or face mass action from students. “If the MEC fails to resign we will take learners of the province to the headquarters of the Department of Education,” Cosas provincial secretary Francisco Dyantyi said. “We are expecting the MEC to resign within two weeks or we declare the province of the Eastern Cape ungovernable. “We call upon the office of the president, minister of education and the office of the premier to do the right thing, which is to redeploy the MEC of education to another department. “We can’t let go of experience like that. Our government still needs people like him, but he has failed the education of the Eastern Cape dismally.” The province only managed an overall matric pass rate of 56.8% last year, a drop of 8.6 percentage points from 2014. The pass rate fell way short of the targeted 70%. EFF Chris Hani regional secretary Wonga Dunjwa called on Makupula to avoid further embarrassment and resign.

“What a shame to those who think the ANC can change the fortunes of this province. The MEC of education must resign,” he said. Earlier this week, the ANC Youth League also called for Makupula’s immediate removal. “The MEC has been at the helm since 2010 . . . we do not believe that there is more creativity forthcoming from his leadership to take us forward,” the league said in a statement. However, the Bay YCL has thrown its weight behind Makupula, saying calls to axe him lacked substance. The SACP’s youth structure said firing the MEC would not solve the province’s education problems, but would only undermine strides he had made to fix it. In a statement this week, YCL regional chairman Sithembiso Mbonde said Makupula should be given space to perform his duties. “We do not believe this is a genuine call that seeks to resolve the challenges facing our education system in the province,” he said. “We are unapologetic for rejecting all calls to remove the MEC. We believe they ... lack substance and [are] mischievous.” Mbonde said fixing education needed all hands on deck. “Our call is for all stakeholders to come together to tackle the challenges.”