MASVINGO — Great Zimbabwe University (GZU)’s council chairman, Simplicius Chihambakwe, has revealed that lack of funds have stopped the institution’s migration to its official site near the historic Great Zimbabwe monument, about 30 kilometres from Masvingo city.
By Tatenda Chitagu
Currently, GZU is housed at the Masvingo Teachers’ College premises and has since resorted to the multi-campus system, with several campuses dotted in and around the town, as well as spilling over to the mining town of Mashava, about 40km away.
Speaking at the GZU’s ninth graduation ceremony last week, where President Robert Mugabe capped 1 883 graduates, Chihambakwe said $300 million was needed for the administration block and heritage studies centre.
“Your Excellency and chancellor, we have this year, again, been restricted in building the university at its original site, next to the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site, due to the unavailability of funds.
“The funds required are in excess of $300 million for just the admin block and heritage studies centre. These funds are not available and are unlikely to be availed anytime soon,” he said.
He said that the university was not resting on its laurels, despite the biting economic environment, as it had acquired some properties in the city for use by students and staff.
“In the meantime, we have not stopped working to grow the university and give it visibility and meaning. This year alone, and using locally generated funds, innovation and sheer imagination, the university has acquired more properties in the city and has refurbished these to serve as teaching and learning facilities,” he said.
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GZU vice-chancellor Rungano Zvobgo weighed in, saying the university initiated fund-raising projects for self-sustenance, as there was limited support from Treasury.
“Although we have not been able to put up the anticipated university buildings at the Great Zimbabwe holy shrine, we have not been sitting and doing nothing.
“GZU purchased a brick-moulding machine currently producing 140 000 bricks per month. As a result, we are producing most of the bricks we need for construction, while we also sell some to staff and the community at a reasonable fee,” he said.
“We have also fully commercialised our farms. We now cater for the entire requirements of the university’s cafeterias in terms of provision of beef, poultry and eggs.
“We are also selling live and dressed chickens to the Masvingo community and we have also recently ventured into citrus farming,” he said.
Zvobgo said the university would soon establish another campus that would be the centre for the study of small grains research in Chivi district.
Mugabe mass-capped the graduates, save for those who graduated with Masters degrees and undergraduates with distinctions and book prizes.
The gradutes, 173 of which were from GZU’s associate institution, Christ College, were drawn from the faculties of arts, education, social sciences, commerce as well as agriculture and natural sciences.
