The ongoing student protests, calling for university fees to fall, is giving local government the opportunity to deal with education issues it has not dealt with before, particularly in terms of nurturing talent, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said on Thursday night.

“To move our country and the Gauteng province forward, we need extraordinary talent. To govern a complex place such as Gauteng, you need talent,” he told delegates at a Centre for Education in Economics and Finance banquet.

“Years ago, I was one of those students causing lots of chaos. Firstly, 25 years ago, it was justifiable and it was for democracy. In 1995, when Nelson Mandela was President, it was difficult – we tried to shut down universities and we were summoned by Mandela.

“It was easy to summon us, as those protests had leadership. Now, who do you call? Management does not want to take responsibility. Leadership is absent in the current process, which can create later difficulties,” he said.

Further, Makhura addressed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, who was also attending the banquet, noting that it was not enough to allocate R20-billion for education. “I know that the purse is tight, but it is important for young people to fight for education.”

He also called on the private sector to invest more in education, noting that it had to be open to finding solutions and “to find a bit more money to put into education”.

Meanwhile, Makhura noted that the country needed greater investment in innovation.

“The world economy has changed profoundly and innovation is at the centre of driving anything. With the age of mineral resources being the primary driver of development and growth gone, a pool of talented people is your new resource.

“You also need inclusion in all its complexity, whether it’s in diversity or economic inclusion. As a province, we are not yet at a level that gives us all of these things,” he said.