Jonathan Jansen must apologise! - ANC

OPEN LETTER TO UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE RECTOR AND VICE-CHANCELLOR JONATHAN JANSEN FROM ANC NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON JESSIE DUARTE

Dear Professor Jansen

The history of the struggle for liberation in South Africa has shaped many people to become politically engaging, vibrant and committed to progressive change.

Among those behind that change is Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga - an activist with a positive track record of having committed herself to the transformation of our education system.  Her academic background - from the University of the North and the University of the Witwatersrand - where she obtained her Masters Degree is in Education make her quite suitable in the current position she holds.

As activists, she was an executive committee member of the National Education Union of South Africa and conducted research on the methods to undo the long-term impact of Apartheid Education on young people. She has dedicated her life in the service of developing our youth. Angie Motshekga is a firm believer in a non-racial, nonsexist and united South Africa.

Unwarranted and misplaced insults leveled at her by University of the Free State (UFS) rector and vice-chancellor Professor Jonathan Jansen - writing RECENTLY in The Times - cannot go unchallenged (see article).

Of course, we know that Professor Jansen is a learned man.  That is, he is a recognised academic and has written books about reparation and reconciliation.  In our society, we have learned the hard way through the misogynistic approach of the highly educated academics that acclaimed Apartheid never existed.  It appears that Jonathan Jansen belongs to this ilk.

He has insulted the Minister of Basic Education in a manner reminiscent of the utterances made by the Apartheid ideologues of the old order.  How often did we not hear, African people in particular being described as "lazy and stupid" by well educated professors with internationally recognized credentials?  This is a description illustrative of ignorance and prejudice.

The Free State University Council - perhaps hopeful that he would become a champion of reconciliation in a university beset with racist tendencies - selected him for an appointment as rector and vice-chancellor.

Instead, in the very speech he makes to the community, his utterances indicate, that despite his academic demeanor, he may well exacerbate the racial tensions, which manifested itself when he belittled and insulted women of the stature of the Basic Education Minister.

We demand from Professor Jansen nothing less than a public apology to Minister Motshekga.

Education has remained the main area of political perversion of our country for decades, and transformation of education institutions is ANC's key priority.  We advise Professor Jansen to note that we will continue to maintain a high level of interest in the transformation of UFS, one of the areas in which he is charged to play a meaningful role. In the same vain, we remind him that UFS is not a private institution, but one subsidised by the ANC-led Government with a keen interest in transformation.

Transforming the UFS is not an option any of us have.  We owe that to all the students who are there today and who will attend the UFS in the future. We are committed to ensure that tendencies that suggest racial hatred and disrespect for the basic tenets of our country's Constitution are banished to the dustbin of history in all institutions of learning and anywhere else in our country.  UFS does not belong to Professor Jansen, but belongs to the people.  He is a mere servant of the people.

For his insults to the Minister, Professor Jansen should apologise publicly!

JESSIE DUARTE
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON

Issued by the African National Congress, July 17 2009

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responses to this article

Jonathan Jansen / Jesse Duarte First of all, I belong to the school that considers insults out of bounds in newspaper articles. Hence I do not condone what was written by Mr Jansen. Secondly, Mr Jansen is an experienced journalist who knows the rules and for him to have . .more written what he did, there must have been some substantiation, particularly with the lack of delivery we have been experiencing from Government officials. The ANC officials should take this as a very strong hint that something must be done to remove this criticism. I am talking here of action on the part of the official and not a verbal attack on the messenger from a senior party official. Thirdly, I think the veiled threats Ms Duarte made are unnecessary. Let me reiterate. If there had been good delivery there would have been no need for Mr Jansen's letter. . .less by Henk on July 17 2009, 13:56 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Is she not? Was she not stupid to attend ANC meetings while she was suppose to be doing her job? Was she not stupid to say education is not the necessity to be a leader? by Nwali on July 17 2009, 15:54 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

I find this amusing! Hahahahaaa! The ANC is now coming after Jansen, who have been riding the wave to ever higher office on the ANC's program of Africanizing all of South Africa's institutions. There cannot be a white Afrikaner president of an Afrikaans university . .more in the ANC's South Africa as whites are condemned in this new dispensation, so Jansen was promoted. Now we have to see if the Peter Principle apply... Jesse, go get him!! . .less by JVR on July 17 2009, 18:54 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Stupid response You know the background to the leadership requiring education. It was an attempt to remove Zuma from the presidential race. To not understand the why of an argument is stupidity. So you are in turn stupid. Where she was wrong was in attending . .more an ANC meeting and not attending to her portfolio. As for your Jansen, he mistakes arrogance for intelligence, but that will be his essential downfall. Some of his articles indicate an interrnalised racism, a form of self-hate. He was a poor choice for UFS, but loud-mouths always get the job . .less by To Nwali on July 18 2009, 01:03 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

silencing of the lambs is it not ominous when the state embarks on trying to silencing academics, journalists, etc? a truley free society encourages such debate even if the anc does not like or agree with the prof???? by onlooker on July 18 2009, 08:00 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Big lie of the race card. Over the years Jonathan Jansen has given us incisive and constructive criticism of the problems in education. For the most part ,the blame lies squarely on the failure of ANC policy, lack of discipline, incompetence and corruption. Jessie . .more Duarte tries to conflate this valid criticism with racism. " ..ensure that tendencies that suggest racial hatred.. are banished.." Motshekga & cronies need to research the devastating ".. long-term impact.." of ANC education more that anything else. ANC propaganda has become so crude & deceitful, that they nowbelieve their own lies. . .less by Petr on July 18 2009, 09:21 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Another bit of ANC arrogance As a graduate of UFS, let me remind the ANC the UFS does not belong to the ANC - the ANC is not god in this country... the fact is the the current Minister of Education was a dismal failure as MEC for Education in Gauteng. Her Deputy is head and . .more shoulders above her in ability, human relations and plain dignity. The appointment to the position of Minister is far too much based on crony-ism and jobs for pals or ANC stalwarts, competent or not. Prof Jansen is not afraid to speak the truth even if it hurts... perhaps the Minister and Jessie Duarte would do far better and carefully consider the Professor's words and do something to put right the record of shoddy performance as an MEC and earn the right to respect by real delivery. South African education is in a mess and sliding deeper into a hole... some moaning about the critics and DO what is needed to prove your critics wrong! . .less by K Stone on July 18 2009, 22:15 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

They stole the UOVS, Mr Stone.... Mr Stone, you miss the point. The Queen told Alice that EVERY THING belongs to the Queen. In the Wonderland that is SA, everything belongs to the ANC, including the (now English and stolen from the Boers) UFS. by JVR on July 19 2009, 02:05 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

duarte vs jansen That's right Jess, you sort that turntail out! Send in the MK vets like you did against Zille and make UFS ungovernable. We just can't have influential loose canons like Jansen corrupting the young minds of South Africa and sewing doubt about our national . .more leaders...I especially like the close eye on his transformation record at UFS. Make sure he keeps it superficial and colour-based. Hell, the last thing we need is any real transformation of heart and mind! . .less by CM on July 20 2009, 00:16 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

No apology to Micky Mouses! I support Janseen.The Primary School Education is in shambles, yet the Motshega CC does not acknowledge that in order to reform. She keeps on defending a wrong policy direction which has proven to be unassisting to peasant children. It was Pityana . .more labeled, now it is Janseen. This ANC! The duty of a true intellectual is to speak truth to power. Intellectuals have always been enemies of unscrupulous government. "On what context were you saying those words and justification of their substance because I find them annoying" should be a question that a true democrat should ask from another democrat. Not intimidate and demand apology. . .less by Simphiwe on July 20 2009, 12:15 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

If the cap fits, wear it The fact is that many people are lazy and stupid and the skin colour has nothing to do with this. Some graduates with a string of degrees are can also be lazy and stupid. So what's new? Of the three states of being satwa, . .more rajas and tamas, tamas is the state of laziness and sloth and one can easily identify this in people by careful observation. So if the cap fits, wear it. . .less by observer on July 20 2009, 12:32 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Problem Problem is if the UFS belongs to the ANC government, it won't take long before it also collapses like all else. In fact it belongs to the five million tax payers of this country. by Molly on July 20 2009, 13:29 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Jessie's bully tactics Read this paragraph again - can you say, "blackmail"? Is Jessie threatening that they will cut UFS's funding? So she, who does not speak for government, is deciding what will happen to my money? Oh hell no... "We advise Professor Jansen to note . .more that we will continue to maintain a high level of interest in the transformation of UFS, one of the areas in which he is charged to play a meaningful role. In the same vain, we remind him that UFS is not a private institution, but one subsidised by the ANC-led Government with a keen interest in transformation." . .less by Martin on July 20 2009, 15:36 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

correction She says......"we remind him that UFS is not a private institution, but one subsidised by the ANC-led Government". This is absolutely wrong because the UFS is NOT subsidised by the ANC - led Government. It is subsidised by the taxpayers of . .more South Africa. Get your facts straight . .less by ack on July 20 2009, 15:46 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

No ack, the ANC do subsidize the UFS Sorry ack - the UFS (not the UOVS anymore) is subsidized by the ANC government, who at this point still channels funds from taxpayers to the University. They can at any point, by an act of parliament, cut-off or modified this. They have complete control . .more over the funding, and so are doing the subsidy. If the ANC was a truly democratic institution with democratic traditions (say such as the Labour Party in Britain, of the Political Parties in the US or Canada), then they would have identified cohorts of voters and channel tax-funds in their direction. Eg, instutions and support for gay groups etc. In this regard one would expect support for the Afrikaans language (and others) as eg Canada supports French, in the form of unilinguals Afrikaans institutions (schools and universities). ANC policies clearly show that they do not concede that Afrikaans speakers, or white Afrikaners, are an identified cohort deserving of democratic in South Africa, and so they do not support them with taxes, although they do tax them. With this attitude, the ANC at least morally forfeit their right to govern Afrikaners Afrikaners must be the only population group in a democracy who are in fact funding their own extinction by paying taxes to a government that is clearly hostile to their interests. It is some democracy we have, would you not agree . .less by JVR on July 20 2009, 16:04 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Jessie Duarte Jansen should treat Duarte's accusations and admonishments with the contempt they deserve. At least Jansen is honest and a model citizen, which is more than one can say for Ms Duarte who was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining her driver's . .more licence. . .less by mpho on July 22 2009, 15:23 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Prof. J Jansen is not a saint> I am a student at a University that faces a lot of challenges that Prof. Jansen was supposed to bring service delivery on and improve this university but the Prof. made it worse, since Prof A M Ndlovu who is not a saint either but as bad as he is . .more acclaimed to be he managed the University better the Prof Jansen did as he was appointed by the minister of education to improve the situation and he failed at this, anyone who is either staff or student at Mangosuthu university of technology will agree with me on that. . .less by Anonymous on July 27 2009, 16:53 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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