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Betrayed
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
May 10, 2010

For a man to know himself is for him to feel that for him there is no human master. For him Nature is his servant and whatsoever he wills in Nature, which shall be his reward." Marcus Garvey

It is now the third year in office for the parliamentarians since the historic March 29, 2008 harmonized elections took place, but nothing for the students and the masses at large to show for it. The students' community was very active in soliciting support for politicians under the pretext that they will deliver on their demands, but nothing has come to pass. Before the elections the students were clamoring about exorbitant fees, victimizations, ill-equipped lecturers, oppressive ordinances and the situation remains the same up to this very day.

When the people of Zimbabwe voted, they did not choose these legislators to fatten up their pockets but to represent them. The fiscal policy has been presented several times but there was no questioning on why the allocation towards the education sector was not 26% as recommended by UNESCO. The public service wage bill consumes the greater part of the state budget but the parliamentarians have not bothered to question how the cadetship scheme in tertiary education will do well to or disadvantage the nation as most recipients of the cadetship scheme will be bonded in the public sector.

Majority of the current legislators claimed to have the agenda of democratizing the country but as of late we had them in the forefront of amending the satanic POSA rather than repealing it. It is quite evident that the people of Zimbabwe do not need the repressive instrument in whatever form. Legislators were not elected to sing, sleep, gossip neither to fight in the august house but to represent their constituencies

The Member of Parliament for Mount Pleasant Hon Timba lobbied the government to fund refurbishments of the Halls of Residence and the students' union building. He however did not follow up to ensure that the political appointee Levy Nyagura uses the funds as prescribed and up to now there is nothing happening on the ground.

Students were suspended and expelled from National University of Science and Technology, University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University recently for standing up for their right to education but the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education sees nothing amiss with the recent upsurge in student victimization. The University Act of 1990 that prohibit autonomy of State owned universities has never been examined by members of the House of Assembly. Ordinance 30 of the student conduct has and is currently being used to victimize student activists since it has some vexatious sections that can be interpreted in several contexts at the expense of the student.

The students' community has not been consulted by Legislators on how they think government should handle issues affecting them. If there are any consultations that took place, they were done for progress reports not with the real intention of gathering what the students consider. Some of the Legislators have even vanished from their constituencies; they will re-appear towards elections and take advantage of students because of their poverty.

The ZINASU National Executive Council solemnly warns these elements that students shall not be used as stepping stones by individuals or cliques. Legislators are urged to stick to the promises they made when they were canvassing for support, failure of which shall invite the wrath of students and furthermore, they should realize that the electorate are the bosses. The national leadership having realized that there is absolutely no one representing students as far as policy making is concerned, they have decided to go in the streets until their plight has been addressed.

Mudenge is being ordered without fail to knock sense into Nyagura's injudicious head and ensure that special exams are held for those students who failed to write exams the previous semester as the University of Zimbabwe opens its doors for the second semester today. The national students' body feels that those who failed to write was not because of their will but it was due to the insensitive, satanic privatization policies of government conspiring with the administration at UZ. The 'government' must fully support and represent its people, failure which would fuel mayhem and furore. The UNION urges the scandalous HEXCO to release results for the 2009 Mutare Polytechnic Quantity Surveying National Diploma students and of those of other colleges who are yet to receive theirs.

As ZINASU we demand to see a robust education delivery system in an open, just and democratic Zimbabwe.

Visit the ZINASU fact sheet

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