Zimbabwe Students, Second Class Citizens

After being in power 15 years, a realisation had come to him that it was now time to give back to the community and empower the students, so everyone thought. However, 16 years later and after the presidential scholarship fund has grown to 1460 students now going to 15 South African Universities, Zimbabweans have woken up to the shattering fact that it was a Hokes.

What was meant to be a private trust was being bankrolled by Zimbabwes tax-payers. As government officials publicly quarrel over almost everything, a war of words has erupted pitting Minister Tendai Biti, Governor Chris Mushowe and Minister Stan Mudenge. Minister Biti revealed that the fund required 54 million dollars and that he had refused to authorise the payments saying that treasury was not in a position to sanction such a cost. Governor Mushowe and Minister Mudenge on the other hand strongly believe that struggling Zimbabwean tax-payers have an obligation to support a private trust just because it is fronted by the president. In recent years, no tangible fundraising have been seen from the fund hoping to dip its sticky fingers into treasury coffers whenever it suits them.

Shocking is the fact that the Chancellor of seven state universities has failed to have confidence in the institutions he is chancellor. Through complicit, compliant and gullible ministers of finance, the fund has purportedly managed to exponentially expand through siphoning state resources. What was sold to Zimbabweans as a benevolent act of sending students to foreign universities to gain a different sort of exposure through the scholarship fund has proved to be an elaborate web of miss-information as tax-payers have been bank-rolling the program without their knowledge.

Despite a stoic defence of his boss, Minister Mudenge continues to preside over a ministry whose funding challenges have been brought to the fore several times in the recent past. 2011 has seen the virtual scrapping of the cadetship scheme with the ministry saying that there is no money. The scheme is in arrears of 13 million dollars from last year yet Governor Mushowe continues to demand resources for the departing students. Minister Mudenge has even further commented that if Minister Biti refuses with his money, the president would fund the scholarships from elsewhere. Zimbabwean students continue to wonder why their chancellor is so happy to send a few of them outside when those in local universities continue to face challenges. They are also saddened by the fact that the man who is supposed to champion their cause, Minister Mudenge doesnt seem to appreciate the gravity of under-funding of tertiary institutions. Would it not make sense to take the 54 million and give it to the struggling cadetship or its equivalence? Why is it necessary to ensure that students go to outside universities where the cost of education is many times more? Is it not interesting that the growth of the scholarship fund coincided with the withdrawal of funds from the local institutions?

Leadership is all about serving the people and ensuring that basics such as education are readily available. Sadly, it seems that Zimbabwean students should sacrifice for the prosperity of a few. Zimbabwes tertiary institutions require a massive injection of funds and Zimbabwean students applaud the refusal of Minister Biti to devote resources to a private scholarship fund at the expense of Zimbabwes ailing institutions of higher learning. If indeed the president could raise 33 million for agriculture inputs, surely he will be able to realise that the fund he started for young Zimbabweans to go to his tertiary alma mater requires funding from his own means and not from the tax-payer.