Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has been added to the interministerial committee on university fees.
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe announced the addition on Thursday, saying Gordhan had been added so that he lend his expertise to addressing the challenge.
The omission of Gordhan from the original committee, announced last week on the same day as the National Prosecuting Authority announced fraud charges against Gordhan, heightened perceptions of a rift between the finance minister and President Jacob Zuma.
Asked about that omission, Radebe told reporters in Pretoria that the Cabinet was united in its support for Gordhan and there were no moves to isolate him.
"Gordhan was added to the task team because of some of the issues that have arisen.
"An interministerial committee by its nature is not prevented from calling in colleagues who can add value. We support our colleague Gordhan as he faces these charges," said Radebe.
Radebe also mentioned the government’s gap-funding grant for the 2017 academic year, through which the government will subsidise students from poor and "missing middle" households so that they would not have to pay fee increases of up to 8%.
"This subsidy will amount to about R2.5bn and will cover over 70% of all undergraduate students," Radebe said.
"Poor and missing middle households will experience no fee increase and the adjustment will be paid by government," Radebe said.
"Stakeholders must immediately work towards creating conditions and a conducive climate for the academic programme to resume without delay."
Radebe insisted that the police were not being used to create a buffer between the people and government.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.