Traffic officers put an end to a group of university students’ endeavour to raise money for poor prospective students in 2019.
The students had devoted their time and energy to fundraising at the Mooirivier robots when the officers dealt the blow that suppressed their noble initiative last Friday.
The six undergraduates lamented the bullying tactics that reoccurred on Saturday.
According to one of the students, Nkosiyazi Moloi, the call to help prospective students living in abject property came from John Molepo, the founder of Youth Empowerment Organisation (YEO). His initiative is called ‘Thusangwanageno’ (Help your brethren), which seeks to assist with the registration and tuition fees of students who have been accepted at any South African institution of higher learning.
Molepo, a PhD student said he wanted to assist prospective students in fulfilling their dreams. ‘Some students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and cannot afford the fees. Many still owe vast amounts of money, so our organisation saw a need to assist such individuals,’ he said.
In other provinces, the project has been successful. Graduates wearing academic regalia gathered at Eskia Mphalele robots in Pretoria and Church Street in Polokwane.
The Potchefstroom students were not so lucky, however. Nkosiyazi told the Herald the traffic officer was aggressive. ‘He told us to get off the road; he said he would arrest us if we didn’t leave.We asked him what law or by-law we had broken because the N12 is a national road and the J.B. Marks municipality has no jurisdiction over it. He never answered us but he was still aggressive.’
‘The officer phoned the police station and the police arrived seconds later. They took us to the station commander to get approval to use the road he was in a meeting. His secretary said road issues have nothing to do with the police.
‘We postponed the collection to Saturday but a different traffic officer pulled me out of the road aggressively. Like the one before, he threatened to arrest us and we abandoned our efforts altogether,’ he said dejectedly.
The good Samaritans only managed to raise R2 259 in the two days. ‘We would have raised a lot more if the traffic department had not stopped us,’ he said bitterly.
An act of double standards
Nkosiyazi has described the action as double standards. ‘The police officers told us they do not stop white people from asking for donations for bridal showers but the traffic officers stopped us.’
Molepo says YEO had assisted 108 students with registration and outstanding fees this year.
‘We aim to assist more than 200 students in 2019. We also want to help them with their stationery requirements for their academic journey.
‘We also want to provide regular workshops to ensure that students are supported and continuously encouraged in their studies to stay motivated and to ultimately ensure success,’ he said.
Molepo told the Daily Sun they raised R30 000 in Pretoria last Friday. Most of the contributions came from taxi drivers.
He urged students who need assistance to apply on the website www.youthempowermentsa.co.za.
Those who wish to contribute towards the initiative should note the details below:
Youth Empowerment Organisation
Name of the Bank: Nedbank
Account Number: 1158322933
Enquiries
John Molepo: 0767502300
Lebogang Motiang: 0730951049.
JB Marks spokesperson responds to the students
Willie Maphosa, the JB Marks council spokesperson says all people who want to raise funds in street intersections have to approach the traffic department for permission.
‘Applicants have to agree with the department on the spots to use, duration and times. The students seem not to have followed these procedures,’ he said.
