A GROUP of students protested against the Steve Biko Foundation’s decision to have President Cyril Ramaphosa deliver a lecture in honour of the late freedom fighter.
The students held up placards, some of which read “Bloodshed” and “Remember Marikana”.
Ramaphosa delivered the 19th annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture at the University of South Africa’s Tshwane campus on Friday evening.
He said government leaders were not living up to the standards set by Biko.
“We know of powerful individuals who used positions of authority to plunder state resources, threatening our economy’s sustainability,” he said.
Ramaphosa called on the wealthy to give back to needy communities.
He mentioned that one family’s actions had a negative impact on the country.
“As shocked as we are by the devastating audacity of one family and its associates, we should not be blinded to the corruption that has taken hold in many government institutions.
“This requires firm, decisive and united action. We have begun the work but there is much more to do.
“Commissions of inquiry, disciplinary hearings, prosecution and lengthy prison sentences are necessary instruments to tackle this scourge.”
Ramaphosa’s comments came after former president Jacob Zuma’s remarks at Walter Sisulu University, where he described state capture as a “politically-decorated expression”.
