The Zimbabwe National Students' Union or ZINASU has attacked university authorities countrywide for allegedly funding President Robert Mugabe’s $800,000 birthday bash at the expense of students education.
An Irate ZINASU national spokesperson, Zivai Mhetu, said he found it difficult to understand why universities can easily provide buses and birthday presents for Mr. Mugabe when they can’t cater for the needs of students.
Mhetu said it is ironic that students at Lupane University were recently denied entry into classes for non-payment of tuition fees and yet they were loaded into buses and ferried to Masvingo for the president’s birthday party.
Mhetu said at one time they ended up using public transport to fulfill an educational trip to the University of Zimbabwe last year.
Mhetu said wasting university resources on luxurious expenses like birthday parties when students are finding it hard to eat a meal is insensitive to their plight.
But Zanu PF youth, Kingstone Zimbodza, defended President Mugabe birthday celebrations saying they should be national events.
Zimbodza said President Mugabe deserves that recognition from universities.
“Mind you that our President Robert Mugabe is a national icon so recognising his birthday it’s a national thing we should honour that so we should celebrate with him … I think it (February 21st) should be declared a national holiday.
Sources at Chinhoyi University of Technology said the government sent a memo last week to all universities asking students and lecturers to attend the birthday party in Masvingo.
Asked to comment, Chinhoyi University of Technology Public and Markerting director, Tapera Musekiwa, requested this reporter to send some questions via email and had not responded to the questions by time of going on air.
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Arthur Chigoriwa Reports on Students Reactions to President Mugabe's Bash