Haniff Hoosen, the ID Secretary-General, has welcomed the ‘kiss and make-up’ meeting between Vice-Chancellor of Free State University Jonathan Jansen and the ANC’s youth wing.

The ID MP’s comments come after he recently called on ‘responsible leaders’ to support the Professor’s ‘laudable’ plans to bring about equity and address historical imbalances at the University.

‘It is important to remember that the University only dropped the internal charges against the Reitz 4,’ Mr Hoosen says.

‘This means that the University has not interfered in the criminal charges or those brought in the Equality Court.’

The ID’s leadership ‘noted’ the Young Independent Democrats’ opposition to Jansen’s decision, ‘but it is time to move on now and the Vice-Chancellor has shown his willingness to engage in a comprehensive consultative process.

‘Reconciliation is a process, not an event, so it is imperative that we do not allow the decision to drop charges to stand in the way of the completion of the reconciliation process initiated by Professor Jansen,’ says Hoosen.

In a Member’s Statement in Parliament today Hoosen said –

“This is a process that plans to turn this highly conservative campus into a 50/50 integration model and which insists that students study a language other than their own. Jansen has also asked the university council to direct a portion of his salary towards helping poor students.”

‘We in the Independent Democrats believe that it is time to set our political differences aside and all work together to bring about reconciliation and transformation,’ Hoosen says.

For media enquiries, please call Haniff Hoosen on 084 200 0460