MPs intervene at UWC as students continue protest over poor living conditions

Maintenance failures and inadequate Wi-Fi connectivity at their residences are among the issues that students at University of the Western Cape (UWC) have been protesting against since Thursday, 21 May.

“One of the concerns we have is around maintenance issues: showers, stoves, refrigerators, washers and Wi-Fi connectivity that’s simply just not been working for the past four years,” said Student Representative Council president, Mcntosh Khasembe. “These residences are just under five years old, but the way it has been maintained and the amounts associated with them do not reflect the money spent,”

He was talking to Daily Maverick as members of the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training toured the University of Western Cape on Friday.

The protest started on Thursday and continued on Friday, when students living at three off-campus residences in Belhar protested against poor living conditions. Khasembe said the students have been trying to engage with the university about the poor accommodation, arguing that students cannot study in these conditions.

“Students also can’t be studying under such circumstances. They can’t, yet they [UWC] are proceeding with examinations, and that’s what we will not accept. For the past four years. Unibell started having maintenance issues from year one,” Khasembe said.

MPs show concern about accommodation

MPs who inspected the problematic student accommodations also raised their concern. Addressing the large crowd of students outside the Unibell 2 residence, committee chair, Tebogo Letsie, said the university must act and resolve the issues, which he said the committee would raise when it meets with university representatives.

“The University of Western Cape is an important institution that has produced serious leaders, that has produced serious people in this country. The most important issue for us will be to have enough time in the meeting with management and council so that some of these issues we are able to raise and come with the resolutions,” Letsie said.

Other MPs also voiced their frustrations. “When students, parents, and the state pay for student accommodation, they pay for everything that is necessary in the student accommodation,” said the Democratic Alliance’s Karabo Khakhau.

“From the day you walk in, you must have Wi-Fi to pass, because without Wi-Fi, you can’t pass. From the day you walk in, you must have a shower that has water all day, every day, 24-7, hot and cold, winter and summer. From the day you walk in, you must have a microwave where you are able to warm your food and have dignity as a student. That should never be a question, including the ability to, in winter, sleep in a room that has proper flooring.”

Meanwhile, Mnqobi Msezane, a uMkhonto Wesizwe member, said: “The students are the biggest stakeholders of the higher education sector. People that are not doing their jobs must be fired with immediate effect. You must never be apologetic for people that do not do their jobs but are getting paid without delay. Those people must be fired.”

UWC vice-chancellor, Professor Robert Balfour, promised students that their accommodation issues will be looked at and resolved. UWC spokesperson Gasant Abarder repeated the assurance, telling Daily Maverick the university hoped to resolve the students’ accommodation issues.

“Last year, the university became aware of some of the issues, including maintenance issues. But what you need to understand as well is, as things get fixed, there is also […] a small element; we’re not saying it’s the students, but maybe during the June recess there is some vandalism that happens. So, the university last year, when [we visited] Unibell in particular and saw all the issues, we put an electronic roster in place for scheduled maintenance, which is still happening,” Abarder said.

“The students had given us a deadline of Wednesday [20 May 2026], to get all the issues sorted out. Unfortunately, some of the problems couldn’t be sorted out by then. But I do have faith that this can be resolved,” he said.

Exams have been placed on hold, and the university says it has measures in place to ensure students will be able to write. “There were some exams that were disrupted, but it was minimal yesterday. As you can see, we’ve got a student body of 24,000. The students who are protesting here are a small minority, but they have legitimate concerns.

“We’re not dismissing that at all. Exams for today have been cancelled, the in-person physical exams. And the university does have contingency plans. FeesMustFall and Covid taught us to build in time for any eventuality. I’m confident that the exams will be seen through,” Arbarder said. DM