Madzore lashes out at Mugabe scholarship

But MDC-T, Youth Secretary General, Solomon Madzore, says that programme has been hijacked by Zanu (PF) and does not benefit the nation.

There is nothing national about the scholarship since it benefits only those with close ties to top Zanu (PF) officials. It is supposed to assist the less privileged yet it has been hijacked by Zanu (PF), chefs who put their girl friends and relatives on the list of beneficiaries, alleged the MDC-T Youth Secretary General Solomon Madzore.

In the recent years students enrolled at the South African University have complained of abuse from top Zanu (PF) officials who are said to ask for sexual favours. Chris Mushowe, the scholarship Director since 1995, is accused of having a string of girlfriends at the college.

Students have also complained of widespread hunger at the campus.

We do not know whether it is a Zanu (PF) project or not, if it is such then they should tell the nation so that we will not confuse it for anything else. We want it to be called Mugabe scholarship, for that is what it is and not Presidential since it is not national, said Madzore.

The Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono has been accused of bankrolling the project at the expense of the taxpayers.

We want to know where the money is coming from, definitely not from Zanu (PF) because it is a common secret that the party is broke. Gono who used to give them money is now useless.

Zimbabwes once revered tertiary learning institutions are now a pale shadow of their former selves. For the most part lecturers are on strike and many students have dropped out because of the high tuition rates. The well-to-do have enrolled their children at foreign colleges, but the majority who are poor have been left with the lecturer-less colleges where students have to grapple with high costs of transport and reading material. Most of the books in the libraries are ancient.

Zanu (PF) destroyed the country education system yet they do not want their children at our colleges. Remember the outrage of the partys chefs when their children were deported from foreign universities? But they have continued to send them abroad with Mugabes own daughter Bona in Hong Kong living in a mansion while students at the University of Zimbabwe are living as squatters because the hostels are closed. Zanu (PF) supporters are sent to Fort Hare and the majority of Zimbabweans are left here with an education system in ruins, said Madzore.

He said students had to go through the office of his Provincial Governor in order to apply for the scholarship, and alleged that merit had been superseded by party connections in most cases.

Efforts to get a comment from Mushowe were fruitless as he is said to have accompanied the students to South Africa.