Suspended ANC secretary general, Ace Magashule. (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)
At least 40 students who were beneficiaries of the Ace Magashule Foundation were temporarily kicked out onto the streets in Turkey, after the suspended ANC secretary general’s failure to pay for their accommodation for more than two years.
The students were awarded bursaries by Magashule’s foundation in 2019 to study various degrees.
The Mail & Guardian spoke to the students on Monday, before the foundation made arrangements to repay their landlord.
“We would remind [Magashule] that we are humbled and grateful for this opportunity. We would like to finish what we started. We have been silent about our grievances for a very long time and this is why we have sought the assistance of media outlets and government intervention. We would like him to honor his financial obligations,” said the group.
One of the bursary recipients, who also acts as spokesperson for the students, Precious Shabalala, told the M&G that she and her peers were camped outside the South African consulate in Istanbul, and were hoping that they would be helped.
It was only after the students contacted the South African embassy that the Magashule foundation confirmed payment.
Another student told the M&G that the South African embassy in Ankara had indicated that it was unable to help them to find accommodation because they were affiliated to a private foundation.
“They just sent us money for food from their [own] pocket[s] to buy lunch.They said their bosses in South Africa can’t do anything to help us,” the student said.
The M&G’s efforts to reach the department of international relations and co-operation before publication were unsuccessful. The department’s responses will be added when received.
In the middle of the 2020 academic year, the Istanbul-based Bahçeşehir University (BAU) informed the students that they could not continue with their studies because their fees had not been paid.
Shabalala told the M&G that the group had tried to “reach out” to Magashule’s foundation on numerous occasions, and had been told the fees would be paid. This, however, did not happen timeously.
Shabalala is pursuing a degree in political science. She said she had lost almost an entire academic year because of the foundation not paying her fees.
The students were kicked out of their residences on Monday as a result of nonpayment, she said.
“We have been warned since 24 May that we would be kicked out of our dormitories. The foundation had promised they were going to pay for the accommodation and they negotiated [a payment date of] 27 May. The date came [and] they promised the money would be reflected but, up until today, nothing has reflected.
“The landlord came and he kicked us out. We are now going to the consulate’s office here in Istanbul. This is a case of an emergency and they are aware. We have tried to reach the secretary general. We have sent [the foundation] messages … telling them that this is real. They are just not taking us seriously. Our parents are not happy — we are out in the streets. We don’t know where we are going to sleep tonight,” an audibly frustrated Shabalala told the M&G on Monday morning.
The students claim that the foundation owes rent for about two-and-a-half years.
“We are at the end of the second year, and some are in their third year … We do not want to return to South Africa; we would very much like to complete our educational journey, as we have invested here,” she said.
Shabalala said the entire experience had been depressing and distracting, because the students were in the middle of final exams.
Asked what message they would like to send to the South African government, the students told the M&G: “We want them to know that we are South African students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are grateful for this opportunity, but have been facing basic living-condition problems, which our sponsors have been taking lightly.”
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