Close schools or open parliament!

The Che Guevara Youth Forum calls for the closure of all schools or the opening of parliament. The Youth are sick and tired of leaders who lead from the safety of their mansions and from behind their computers. South Africa needs leaders who lead from the front.

If the government wants schools to open then they too should return to work instead of carrying out parliamentary business on Zoom where they behave like a bunch of naughty school children who cannot even respect the person chairing the meeting.

The government is gambling with the future of South Africa at no risk to themselves. Sending children to school is a huge risk to the lives of the children, the teachers, and their families, particularly those in poor and already disadvantaged communities.

The Che Guevara Youth Forum and the Land Party stand with the South African Democratic Teachers Union’s (SADTU) call for the closure of schools. Land Party has called for the closure of all schools until 2021 since the beginning of lockdown. We urge the government to heed their call with immediate effect. This includes all private and privileged schools. The government cannot allow the existing inequalities to be perpetuated and for the majority of scholars in our country to be disadvantaged more than they already are.

The 2020 school year must be canceled. In 2021 we will have passed the peak, we will have a better idea of what life with COVID-19 looks like, and there will be time to prepare the schools, scholars, teachers, and institutions properly. This is not the first time our country would have lost a year of school.

If the government is so eager to send children to school then they too should stop running away from the virus and go to work in parliament.

“Protect our country's future by protecting our youth from Covid-19.” Chief Leader Gcobani Ndzongana.