Durban — The ANC-aligned SA Students Congress (Sasco) reclaimed the seat of power at the uMlazi-based Mangosuthu University of Technology after winning the student elections on Thursday.
The congress ousted the EFF Student Command (EFFSC), which had been governing the Student Representative Council (SRC), with a tally of 2 468 votes, translating to five seats, followed by the EFFSC with 1 703 (four seats).
Independent candidates Neheletso Kabi and Mhlengi Ngubo won one seat apiece. A total of 4171 students had registered to vote during the annual student elections.
The IFP-aligned South African Democratic Students’ Movement (Sadesmo) failed to bag a seat. This student movement, which once enjoyed unwavering support at MUT, has evidently fallen from political grace.
It is believed that Sadesmo’s long-standing trump card at MUT was that the institution was named after the late IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who died last September after falling ill.
Soon after being declared as winners, Sasco reignited its long-held calls for the institution to be renamed, claiming that the current name was biassed in favour of IFP backers.
“We are glad that the students have shown confidence in us as Sasco. We will ensure that we keep our promises of prioritising students by ensuring their aspirations at the university are fulfilled,” said Vezi Simelani, Sasco president.
He added: “But we also reiterate that the institution should change its current name to a name that would be accommodative of every student.”
This is not the first time the organisation is making these calls.
In 2015, Sasco called for the renaming of MUT along with other tertiary institutions, such as Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape.
However, Sadesmo has always rejected Sasco’s name-change proposal, arguing that the institution was named after Buthelezi because he played a key role when the university was built with funds donated by the wealthy Oppenheimer family in 1979.
Meanwhile, Sasco also snatched Wits University in Johannesburg from the EFFSC.
The EFF clung to its leadership position at the University of Cape Town, an institution it has governed seven consecutive times.
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