Zinasu ‘State of the Union’ address

By Gilbert Mutubuki

The Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) is alarmed by recent economic developments that have left the country teetering on the brink of total economic collapse.

ZIMRA is failing to meet targets, companies have been closing left right and centre and a recent judgement by the Supreme Court has resulted in the firing of 30 000 workers.

Unfortunately, it is the students of Zimbabwe that are bearing the brunt of social economic hardships caused by these developments.

Closure of companies and firing of thousands of workers have resulted in fewer companies and workers in the country.

This means that there are fewer companies and workers paying company and income tax to ZIMRA which has caused the said body to miss its targets.

The underperformance of ZIMRA, which is the biggest source of revenue for the government, plus the heavy burden the civil service wage bill is placing on the treasury has in turn resulted in the government having less money to channel towards education.

Consequently, a lot of institutions of higher learning are raising fees because they are getting few financial resources from the government to run their institutions which is adversely affecting students because they simply cannot raise some of the astronomical fees that are being demanded.

Furthermore, the high unemployment rate, which was recently driven up by firing of workers from numerous companies and parastatals, means less parents have jobs and are thus unable to adequately cater for the educational needs of their children.

As a direct result of this and the astronomical fees structures that are being demanded in institutions of higher learning, a huge number of students are being left with no choice but to defer their studies.

Currently, over 2500 students have deferred from the University of Zimbabwe alone and we expect this number to rise drastically as the institution opens for another semester.

But it is not only students who are being forced to defer that are worried about their futures, even those who are fortunate enough to remain in school know that a bleak and uncertain future awaits them upon completion of their studies.

With the unemployment rate being well over eighty percent, only ten percent of students that graduate every year have been successful in getting jobs thus far.

However, with the economic situation recently taking a turn for the worse, we expect that this percentage to shrink drastically.

Accommodation crisis

To add to the woes of students countrywide, the government has failed to address an on-going accommodation crisis of epic proportions.

Institutions like the Midlands State University (MSU) have an intake of close to 22 000 students yet their facilities can only accommodate 5 000 students.

The Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) is another institution that does not have adequate facilities to accommodate students. Also fuelling the accommodation crisis is the fact that some institutions are charging exorbitant fees for their halls of residence.

Recently, Harare Polytechnic hiked accommodation fees from $90 to $120 and its dean is threatening to evict students from halls of residence for non-payment of fees.

As a result of all this, many students are being forced to seek cheap places to rent where they live in squalid, repulsive and insalubrious conditions.

In such high density areas as Senga in Gweru and Rujeko in Masvingo, students are being packed into small rooms where they are charged exorbitant rent by unscrupulous landlords. The government’s failure to address the accommodation crisis which has been going on for years is an indication that it does not prioritize the education sector.

Dzamara abduction and continued absence

ZINASU is deeply concerned by the fact that Itai Dzamara is still missing. We hold the government of Zimbabwe solely responsible for his continued absence. Why is the government vociferous about the return of skulls of dead heroes but quiet about Dzamara?

Should we, as a country, not prioritize the life of someone who is presumed to be alive over the skulls of dead heroes? We demand that the government concentrate on bringing Dzamara back before they focus their energies on bringing back skulls from the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, we the students of Zimbabwe, under the auspices of the ZINASU are going to continue the struggle that Itai Dzamara begun.

Yes, Dzamara is missing, but no, the fire he sparked on the day that he handed a petition to President Mugabe has not died nor should it ever be allowed to.

In line with Dzamara’s petition, we still demand that President Robert Mugabe step down and pave way for fresh elections. His government has completely failed the citizens of Zimbabwe as is evidenced by the protracted economic crisis our country is going through.

Congress

Finally, ZINASU would like to announce that it is soon going to hold its tenth bi-annual congress where over 200 delegates from institutions of higher learning across the country are going to celebrate ZINASU’s tenth anniversary and elect the Union’s new leadership.

The Union is going to take the congress as an opportunity to come up with binding resolutions aimed at addressing the plight of students and challenging the incompetent and overstayed government of Zanu-PF.

In addition to this, the congress is going to adopt the Union’s new constitution and hold a conference on Zimbabwe’s education policy.

It is our sincerest hope, as the outgoing executive of ZINASU that the Congress will elect bold and selfless leaders that will take the Union’s struggle for democracy and better standards of education further.

Our country is at a critical juncture where the masses are ready to challenge the status-quo, it is imperative that ZINASU plays a role in mobilizing them towards confronting the Zanu-PF government for all its failures.

Gilbert Mutubuki is the president of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu).