SADTU STATEMENT ON McDONALD’S PORTABLE DESKS
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) strongly condemns and outrightly rejects the Minister of Basic Education’s shameful endorsement of McDonald-branded portable desks which were donated to two schools in the Western Cape last week.
We refuse to allow the Minster to turn the children of the poor into walking advertisements for a multinational junk fast-food corporation. This is an insult to poor communities whose children are now being exploited to promote unhealthy eating habits in a country that is already grappling with a malnutrition crisis.
At a time when the government is enforcing austerity measures and budget cuts, the Minister’s actions expose a broader agenda to privatise education. SADTU will not stand by while Minister Gwarube opens the door for corporations to commercialise our schools under the guise of donations. We call on all communities to reject this disgraceful attempt by McDonald to infiltrate our education system.
Businesses have a responsibility to contribute to education, but never at the expense of our children. The Minister’s duty is to protect the integrity of our education system and act in the best interests of learners, not corporate sponsors.
Had this been done in in Afrikaners school, the Minister would never have endorsed it. This is the same Minister who stood with racists represented by Solidariteit, Afriforum and the DA in opposing the BELA Act. We said it then, and we say it now, their opposition to Section 4 and 5 was racist, opposing the deracialisation and integration of our schools in South Africa. These groups are determined to maintain racial exclusion in education. Our position is vindicated by the response from the US President Donald Trump who offered them asylum in America further exposing their racist agenda.
Even more alarming is their demand for an apartheid-style homeland within South Africa, yet another confirmation of their true intentions. We reiterate that these organisations are racists and reactionary. The Minister even signed an agreement with them to retain racial so-called Afrikaans schools.
Solidariteit and Afriforum must be charged with crimes against humanity and treason. Their actions have brought our country into disrepute, and they must be held accountable for conspiring with foreign entities against South Africa’s democratic principles. These organisations are traitors, and their racist agenda must be exposed and confronted.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Secretariat