By Milisa Mamase
During South Africa’s Human Rights public holiday on the 21st March 2019, Rhodes University Oppidan Committee released a public statement on social media platform (Facebook) that the bus services are being terminated with immediate effect. The institution situated in Makhanda community, a city which is currently faced with an infrastructural crisis such as road unworthiness and the biggest of them all water scarcity, terminated the shuttle services for students staying out of campus.
According to the institution’s Oppidan Committee there are promises attached should an applicant be accepted, that if students do not find space on the residences made available by the institution, there would be a shuttle services from the institution, which will be made available to transport students to their digs. On the institutions Oppidan Committee section it is declared, “The Oppidan Bus is a free service to all Oppidans that acts as a shuttle from outside the Main Library to your digs….FREE OF CHARGE! It operates from Monday to Friday from 5pm to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday 5pm, 8pm and 9pm during term time. The bus leaves every hour on the hour daily” (Oppidan Committee).
But how did the students take the termination, and the news released by the Oppidan Committee on Facebook social media platform that, “it is with great regret that we have to inform you of our inability to offer the Oppidan bus services any further. The system and infrastructure we have in place are unsustainable, unsafe and failing. This is evidenced by the events which have taken place over the past few weeks and this includes students being left behind as supply of seats are outstretched by the demands of people.” (Oppidan Committee).
According to Ludumo Mgobo statuses were shared on all social media platforms and the Student Representative Council (SRC) faced unrest as the termination of the bus services would mean the lives of students during night hours are endangered. “That means the university should cancel the 6pm test because I cannot be walking to my place at 8pm and not everyone has R30 to pay for a cab. This is just so unfair and I feel my right to education and fair access to Rhodes facilities are violated”, said Akhona Same.
One of the students, Vanessa Bobotyana who was also affected since she is a student who stays out of campus, created a WhatsApp group and students added those they know and further discussions were made by the student body as to know and come into an agreement of what steps should be taken in resolving the matter. The students arranged a meeting on the 22 of March and the SRC participated with one management member of the institution. We want the Vice Chancellor to come and explain why are the oppidan bus services are being terminated, on what grounds, Siya demanded.
“It is worth to be considered that the shuttle services at the institution were established in the 2012 and students have always been complaining about the conditions of the buses they are using, having to wait on queues during cold days’ outside and the buses sometimes do not keep the arrival times”, Kayakazi Nomnqa said. If then there has never been a moment were oppidan students were not worried about the oppi bus issues, what is the management of the institution doing in getting the system to work effectively since they have promised every student to get the transport services?
Ms. Karen from the Oppidan office explained that the issue of insufficient funding for bus maintenance is something they have been trying to resolve for years but they all lacked capacity to continue to run the bus services. “Oppidan Union may head into a financial crisis in the upcoming year of 2019. It is equally important for us to bring to your attention, that the Oppidan Union does not get any money from the University like the SRC, or any other financial support. We are and have always been self-funded despite the parallels to the student body needs we meet and the university’s interests in those needs being met” (Oppidan Committee 2018)
However, after all the research was made to get the background of the Oppidan bus system, a meeting was held on Tuesday, 26 March and Jessie Ditshego, a SRC Oppidan representative, announced to the student body being supported by the SRC board of members that the institution is pulling out their buses as they are not roadworthy and demanded the SRC to look for outsourced buses. “The management and the office of the Vice-Chancellor requested that we as the SRC look towards outsourcing the buses from the drivers who have been hired by the institution for long distance trip, let them bid for a long term contract with the Oppidan Committee” said Jessie. This was the only option the student body was given and the bus services are still operational with Sugar Tours as the successor of the tender. This solution has been told to be a long-term solution until communicated otherwise by the oppidan council.
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