By Jacob Mafume
The People’s Democratic Party stated before that the First Family is bent on destroying everything in its way like a delinquent teenager. Zimbabwe the nation state needs salvation from them.
Otherwise this bunch will drag everyone to hell, at least they have successfully done that with the Cabinet, many other sections of the state and ZANUPF.
There are so many Universities in Zimbabwe proportionate to the population without factoring the argument on people who afford tertiary education because of ZANUPF’s failure to create and fund the Welfare State.
Universities in Zimbabwe are under capitalised, many of them are just but elevated high schools. Apart from the University of Zimbabwe, National University of Science and Technology, Midlands State University, Women’s University, Selous University, Africa University and the Zimbabwe Defence College, the rest lack proper university infrastructure.
It is therefore irrational to invest a billion dollars in a whole new University instead of developing the existing ones making them competitive institutions of higher learning, providing quality education to those who enrol.
At present most universities are like prisons where the student wishes to leave as soon as they can, the state has failed to invest in the comfort of the learner yet priority is given on massaging an individual’s ego.
The State is already spending 60 million dollars a year on a Presidential Scholarship which benefits highly connected individuals, while back at home Universities are owed millions of dollars by the same government.
These are the same universities which are underdeveloped, the ones that are at the top are now lagging behind on world standards due to lack of vision and support from the political leadership.
We are also concerned by the valuation of the University which is pegged at a billion dollars. We raise questions about the Quantity Surveyor; documents of the valuation process must be availed for public scrutiny if those involved have nothing to hide.
The official statement released by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education also shows that a Family Trust shall be responsible for the university. State resources are being committed in building a personal empire.
This family already own multiple farms, are evicting hundreds of families in Mazowe even deploying soldiers to pursue a private cause against the dictates of the law. Court orders were defied by the First Family from hell.
Recently they seized the Mazowe Dam declaring that the state asset has since been turned to private single person ownership.
The establishment of the university is no different from their quest to build a Gushungo Empire anchored on corrupt and primitive accumulation transactions.
The University will be in Mazowe just a few kilometres away from Bindura State University and the Zimbabwe Defence College.
If it is about massaging the egos, why not just change the Defence College to Robert Mugabe Military College after all it has state of the art facilities.
A billion dollars can be put to better use and transform lives of many Zimbabweans; this university is certainly not one of those ways.
Jacob Mafume, PDP Spokesperson
