Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
Accommodation woes for students in Bulawayo are set to end as the government has identified partners to venture into Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) projects to mitigate shortage of student accommodation, a Cabinet Minister has said. Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Cde Oppah Muchinguri yesterday said the BOT approach would go a long way in alleviating accommodation problems for students in the city.

Higher learning institutions, especially the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), have been facing accommodation challenges with less than a third of students living on campus and the rest renting flats and rooms in surrounding neighbourhoods.

“With regards to student accommodation, the government has identified partners to undertake joint ventures under BOT to mitigate the accommodation challenges faced by students,” said Cde Muchinguri while addressing hundreds of Bulawayo students during a meeting at the Bulawayo Polytechnic.

She said a meeting with vice chancellors of state universities and principals of polytechnics was held early this month to implement the model, which she said is meant to benefit thousands of students.

The broad framework for the BOT approach is outlined as a contractual agreement whereby an investor constructs a facility which he then maintains and operates for a given period to recover money spent on the project as well as realise returns for investment.

“The government has identified investors that will build students’ accommodation and collect rentals. When the investors have recouped their money as well as realise some profit, they transfer ownership of the hostels to the respective institutions,” said Minister Muchinguri.

Meanwhile, Cde Muchinguri said the ministry had created a scholarship fund targeted at the girl child’s education with $200,000 having been set aside as seed money.

“The scholarship fund is wholly financed by Zimdef and is meant to promote and increase the number of female students who have access to male dominated studies such as Engineering, Science and Mathematics.

“These areas of studies are vital for the successful implementation of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset),” said Cde Muchinguri.

The ministry, she said, had also set aside funding for students’ exchange programmes and participation in international fora and debates to enhance critical thinking and students exposure.

Cde Muchinguri urged the students to be innovative and take part in the turning around of the country’s economy.

“The panacea to all our problems lies with the academics. You’re critical thinkers for the nation but somehow you’re failing to think outside the box.

“Let’s focus more on research and come up with innovations which the government can support financially,” she said.

Yesterday’s meeting, which was organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Students’ Unions (Zicosu), was Cde Muchinguri’s first meeting with students following her appointment to the ministry in December last year.

It was held under the theme “Fostering the implementation of Zim-Asset at tertiary institutions through student-led entrepreneurial activities”.

The students applauded the minister for coming up with a strategy to mitigate accommodation problems.

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