Hungry students demonstrate at Harare Polytechnic

By Violet Gonda
2 October 2008

It has taken a plate of plain sadza to drive desperate and hungry students to say enough is enough. Students at Harare Polytechnic demonstrated on Wednesday night, protesting deplorable conditions at the state institution.

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said after weeks of just eating boiled cabbage with no salt or oil, the students could take no more when the canteen menu changed to just plain sadza and no relish.

The cash strapped students say the situation was worsened by the fact that they were forced to pay Z$17 billion for their food by the college authorities. Although the money was later reduced to Z$1.6 billion none of the students who had paid the full amount have been reimbursed.
The infrastructure at the college, as at most government institutions, is facing complete collapse. ZINASU said: “184 students who inhabit one of the institution’s six hostels are being forced to use only one toilet, as all the others are not functioning.”

The college authorities say hyper-inflation is eroding the little money they have and have run out of funds for repairs.

ZINASU coordinator Mfundo Mlilo told SW Radio Africa the Wednesday’s protests resulted in a food committee and a student representative body being formed at the college, to represent the interests of the students.

The news of the student unrest comes at a time when Zimbabwe is reeling under its worst ever economic crisis. Tens of thousands of people spend days queuing just to try and get their own cash out of the banks. Efforts to put more money in circulation backfired on Thursday as it only served to increase prices of basic commodities.

And Zimbabweans continue to suffer in silence. There has been no show of public outcry over the deteriorating situation in the country. Mlilo believes this is because of the general fear of the Mugabe regime which reacts violently. The student leader said: “I will tell you that since 2003, when I left the University of Zimbabwe, over 100 students have been expelled. And this number which is within the last five years is greater than the number of students who were expelled during the Rhodesian government. This should speak volumes about the nature of the reaction by our state.”

But he said Zimbabweans are finally getting fed up and are coming to a stage where they cannot stomach living as they do for one moment longer. Everything hinges on the success of the intra party deal, but the student movement is said to be now getting ready to mobilise for real protests.