Two former Copperbelt University Student’s Union (COBUSU) presidents Rodgers Mugala and David Chikwanda have appealed to President Michael Sata to use his discretion to lift the ban on squatting at the higher learning institution.
The duo are of the view that the Republican President must use the same discretion to allow street vending in the country to urged CBU management to allow squatting by the students.
“ May the President use his discretion and let squatting to prevail at the university as s short term measure while management and government works on alternative accommodation, “ they said.
The former COBUSU leaders said presidents In joint statement to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.
They noted that while squatting was not the best solution to the problem students were surprised by the decision by the Varsity management to ban the vice.
The former COBUSU presidents affirmed that the situation has forced some students to brave the nights on corridors because they have no alternative accommodation.
“ The problem of accommodation has not started today and squatting has always been an initiative by students to cushion the problem.
“ It is therefore illogical for someone to just wakeup and declare that no more squatting without providing any reasonable solution, ” they said.
The duo said banning squatting will create a situation where students are technically denied education because they cannot afford to rent accommodation far away from campus.
They said this would also deny the country qualified human resource.
Recently, Vice Chancellor professor Ngoma banned squatting at the CBU, the university with an accommodation capacity of 1800 bed spaces against the more than 7000 students enrolled at the university.
First year students at the institution have since been reported to be sleeping in corridors as they have nowhere to go.
ZANIS
hahaha…street vending and squatting at CBU, why dont you ask the president to build hostels?
Government should come up with a plan to build more hostels for students. Engage private public partnership and construct modern hostels at all public learning institutions.
The VC has done a commendable job. Sanity should return to our Universities. How i wish UNZA VC can follow suit. The fact that a wrong has been done for a very wrong time does not make it right. Moreover, as per University regulations, accomodation is not tied with Admission into a University. Indeed the VC has military background where discipline is instilled.
Give alternative accommodation Mr VC. You have just created another problem for the students. Students will be robbed and even killed walking long distances to their boarding houses. How does that solve your problem of over enrolling? Which is better, for a student to sleep on the corridors or squatt in a room?
God give these people wisdom from above.
There is nobody sleeping in the corridors and this fact can be verified if people care to come and visit campus at night. Squatting has become big business for those that are already accommodated through subletting. Accommodated students charge other students for use of their bed space and this where the noise is coming from. I challenge the media organisations to interview students who have been squatters before and they will learn that students pay as much as KR 4000 to other students for a bed space. The problem of shortage of accommodation is not unique to Zambia. Other countries have similar problems but they do not compromise the standards by allowing squatting. Prof. Ngoma has taken a bold move to prevent a catastrophe and all well meaning Zambians should support him.
Simple problem, here is a solution;
CBU must engage private individuals, to construct modern Hostels if the Government has failed.
As a youth i will never vote for PF again, i feel been cheated, am victim of donchi kubeba, want to urge all the youth that in this government of the PF, there is nothing for us. We will keep on crying….. I regret voting this government.
The two leaders mentioned above are frustrated failures from CBU.Chikwanda is even on a wanted list for subleting.He conspired with some senior students and got money from unsuspecting students in the name of finding squating accomdation