'No student will sleep outside': Manamela responds to CPUT housing crisis

The Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, has assured Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students that no one will be evicted from their accommodation.

The commitment follows a protest staged on Thursday just metres away from Cape Town City Hall, where the State of the Nation Address was being delivered.

Several students, some carrying their luggage, held a peaceful protest in an effort to get President Cyril Ramaphosa’s attention over what they describe as an ongoing student accommodation crisis.

Many of the affected students, who come from different provinces, say they have been left with no choice but to sleep in toilets or outside due to a lack of housing.

Deputy Chairperson of the South African Students Congress (SASCO), Bulelwa Cacumba, said some students had received eviction notices from the university because of funding shortfalls.

“They were evicted by CPUT. CPUT sent a list of students indicating that this number of students would be evicted. When they get to campus, they are told to leave. Those students who don’t have accommodation and are still trying to secure it have been ignored by CPUT management,” she said.

Several protesting students told Eyewitness News that inadequate accommodation and poor living conditions have been recurring issues for years.

“This has been happening at CPUT for a few years now. There’s a serious problem. Students are not able to access decent residences. Every single year it’s the same situation,” one student said.

Addressing students during the protest, Manamela assured them that no one would be left without shelter.

“For now, no student will sleep outside. We have been working with CPUT management, the SRC, and others to ensure that CPUT students do not sleep outside.

“This is unfortunate. It is not because students were not allocated rooms, but because of the quality of the rooms. That is what we are going to deal with, and we hope this is resolved before the academic programme resumes,” he said.

One disgruntled student, Khanya Matshini, said the situation is affecting students’ ability to focus on their studies.

“We are tired of this situation at CPUT. The university admits more students than it can accommodate in residences, and some end up on the streets. We are here trying to get the President’s attention. He is here, it shouldn’t be that difficult for him to come out and address us,” Matshini said.