Zimpapers Logo

The National University of Science and Technology (Nust), which was established by an Act of Parliament in 1991, was first mooted in 1982.

Government funded the establishment of the country’s second university and Bulawayo City Council chipped in with 160 hectares of land.Sadly, construction of the university is still incomplete after having stalled for almost two decades.

However, Government in the Second Republic has refused to see major national projects coming to a halt, hence the allocation of $1 billion to Nust.

This is not the first time a national project has been revived in the Second Republic. The National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP), which was first mooted in 1912, has come to life with the soon-to-be-completed Lake Gwayi-Shangani and a pipeline linking the lake to Bulawayo.

The lake, with a holding capacity of 650 million cubic metres of water, and pipeline project are major components of the NMZWP.

The project involves various phases which include the construction of the Lake Gwayi-Shangani, the construction of a pipeline from the lake to Bulawayo and another pipeline which will draw water from the Zambezi River.

And now the Second Republic has done it again, bringing to life the 27 buildings in the Nust plan. The remarks in 2016 by the university’s founding vice-chancellor and late national hero Professor Phineas Makhurane that the university had not developed since he left in 2004 told the tale of many unfinished projects.

We hail President Mnangagwa and his administration for the work they have done in turning national projects into a reality.
Nust is one of the most important institutions in the country and stagnant works were not befitting.

Thanks to Government, work on the university’s giant library and shopping complex is expected to commence soon following allocations made in the 2022 budget.

From $5,2 billion that Treasury allocated to 11 State universities, Nust received the highest amount of $1 billion. Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said Nust should start undertaking the projects.

“We are moving a lot in terms of infrastructure development and one of the issues is that we are in the process of giving it (Nust) resources for finishing off outstanding buildings. At Nust we have construction works which stalled a very long time ago,” said Prof Murwira.

“We have allocated $500 million for the construction of a Students Service Centre and another $500 million for the library which means Nust has got $1 billion for the construction project.”

The university’s administration must take the call of the minister seriously and utilise allocated funds wisely. This is a big responsibility and Government’s decision to allocate Nust more funds than all other universities in the country is evidence of how important this institution is to the country.

Brick by brick, President Mnangagwa’s Government is building the Zimbabwe we all want.