The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Mr Thabo Meeko's contrition today is a welcome act, as it is of the utmost importance for citizens to not make reckless and irresponsible accusations as he did when he said that the Vice-Chancellor and Rector Professor Jonathan Jansen ‘is equally a criminal like this racist young students at that university.'

Our court system after due process can declare someone to be a criminal and not some one-person kangaroo court.

It is an act of egregious incitement to wish to cause bodily harm and Professor Jansen's death. Mr Meeko said that "We agree with the president of the ANC shoot and kill a criminal and that is what we must do comrades".

This is both wrong and unconstitutional.

President Jacob Zuma would not, I am sure be party to such wanton encouragement to murder. Mr Meeko has no right to use the President of South Africa for his nefarious intentions. Creating anxiety by threat of imminent danger is the core definition of hate speech. This must not and cannot be tolerated in a democratic society like ours.

Saying as he then did that Professor Jansen "must be removed, and not only him, as well as the university council...they must leave the University of the Free State" is to misunderstand the nature of university governance. Only their legally constituted Councils can remove a Vice-Chancellor of a university or college. In turn, Councils are assembled on the basis of law and their Members can only be removed by due process following careful procedure.

Finally, to declare that ‘we must tell him that we have removed far more bigger people in this country than him. This is not a threat, it is going to happen' is of course an assertion of sheer thuggery.

Mr Meeko is here today, to acknowledge his wrong doing in saying what he did. I so wish that he were not as reluctant and grudging as he is being here.

I also wish to say though that as much as I do not admire his poor grasp of the principles of a constitutional democracy, I have some appreciation for his anger at the lack of change in our country. It has been 16 years since the dawn of democracy and much progress has been made, except for the very poor, homeless and millions of unemployed who cannot eat the right to vote.

Anger is not a good motivation though for making the right decisions about what we ought to do.

The National Democratic Revolution is not a solution to poverty. It is a creed composed of empty slogans. It empowers tenderpreneurs and bypasses the poor.

Neither nationalisation nor land grabs are a solution to poverty. Changing ownership from private hands to cronies, who do not know the first thing about business and employment creation, has no obvious benefit for the poor. In fact, nationalisation can destroy the very businesses that provide employment to poor people.

So is there a third way that is neither capitalism nor socialism? Are we facing the end of -isms in search of more practical solutions? In a recent speech to the DA Parliamentary Caucus Dr Mamphela Ramphele proposed an asset-building approach to poverty. This is what she said: ‘An asset approach to development would introduce newcomers to ... a dialogue platform that takes stock of who brings what and how the whole can be leveraged to become larger than the sum of the parts.'

Or, to paraphrase the late US President John Kennedy, ask not what assets you can extract from your country (our current direction) but rather which assets you can bring to our country's development. Present at a university today, the asset of course is to get the best education you can, so that you can navigate through the modern world with knowledge, insight and understanding. It will bring freedom and richness in spirit and opportunity. Your asset is the depth of your cultural variety brought about by the quality of people that inhabit the University of the Free State.

I was privileged to be one of the co-editors of former President Nelson Mandela's presidential speeches (Nelson Mandela: From Freedom to the Future Eds. Kader Asmal, David Chidester & Wilmot James, 2003). About university transformation this is what he had to say:

Universities are essential in the preparation of highly skilled leadership throughout society. Our country desperately needs its universities to perform that function. Our development depends on our having skilled people in leadership positions. Selfish and self-serving individualism is not what we are seeking to promote; but we also cannot evade individual responsibility for achieving excellence. We do know that many South Africans battle against great odds; that many have to study, teach and research under conditions that are far from ideal. Transformation, however, includes making the most of the limited opportunities available. It can never mean suspending the striving for quality and excellence until ideal conditions are achieved. (p.264)

16 June which we now commemorate annually as Youth Day, is the right moment - a vital one in our history with which I have had deep personal experience - to recommit ourselves to Madiba's call for quality, excellence and service.