IN commemoration of the 1976 June 16 student’s uprising, the Young Communist League (YCL) has called for judicial transformation in the country’s courts.
Delivering a Youth Day lecturer at uMfolozi TVET College, KZN YCL Secretary Justice Manana said the transformation agenda at South Africa’s courts was moving at a snail’s pace, thereby hindering progress.
‘We are worried about the conduct of our courts, which are opposing every decision our government takes. We need to ensure that we start a discussion of transforming our courts and continue to be vibrant.
‘It is clear our courts no longer serve the interests of the poor but are biased towards the rich.
‘Today if you are rich you get away with murder easily, but if you are poor, you are likely to rot in jail merely for being penniless.
‘If this tendency continues we will be left with no choice but to take to the streets, in the same way as our brothers and sisters of 1976 did, and if the need be we will burn them down,’ warns Manana.
Manana also expressed his displeasure at how the matric cheating scandal has been handled by the government.
‘On a day like this, It pains me to see the ‘torture’ that has been exerted on our students who were accused of having cheated in the 2014 matric examinations.
‘For how long will these students be subjected to these hearings?
‘Truth be told, our government has failed them in this regard, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.’
Manana also took a swipe at the Progressive Youth Alliance which he said was in decline in many tertiary institutions.
‘The chaos we now see at institutions of learning is because student leadership is now being bought.’
District YCL Secretary Simphiwe Magwaza said his organisation had no room for people who do not want to study.
‘The only weapon to fight the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequalities is education. We want to make education fashionable.
‘That’s why it worries us to see the looting of financial resources at Unizulu, because it affect the poor students.’
