UNZA SEWER SMELL SAGA
…Students riot, management says ‘small misunderstanding’
By Adrian Mwanza
THE University of Zambia (UNZA) management has underplayed the riot that took place on Monday night when hundreds of students took to the Great East Road, blocking motor vehicles demanding improved water supply and sanitation at the institution of higher learning.
Last week The Mast raised the alarm in a lead story in which the lecturers and workers union accused management of failing to address the long-standing problem of the bad smell from old and new sewer spillage and poor water supply.
The matter came to a head on Monday night when students took to the streets to protest against the worsening situation.
Commenting on the riot yesterday, the university’s public relations manager Damaseke Chibale said the incident was just a “small misunderstanding” which had since been resolved.
Chibale said the situation was calm and back to normal.
“It was just a small misunderstanding and as we speak, things have gone back to normal at the campus. We shall issue a comprehensive statement soon over the matter, but things have returned to normal,” she said.
On Monday around 21:00 hours, a horde of students ran amok, throwing stones and other missiles at unsuspecting motorists forcing them to find alternative routes.
The students were heard calling for change as they ran towards Great East Road while carrying improvised torches in their hands. Some denounced the government and UNZA management over the pathetic water and sanitation situation.
“We want water! We want water! Tipaseniko manzi titile muma toilets [give us water so we can flush our toilets],” they shouted.
People’s Pact vice president Robert Sichinga described the situation as dire, urging government to find a solution before it got out of hand.
Sichinga said most State universities in the country were underfunded.
“The problem with this government is that it is full of propaganda; they keep praising themselves that they have provided free education when, in actual sense, it’s just mere rhetoric meant to hoodwink the people of Zambia,” he said.
Sichinga said students had the right to demand better sanitation, warning that if the situation continued, they risked contracting diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
He said the water crisis and poor sanitation were a recipe for disaster.
“This is a ticking time bomb ready to explode anytime,” Sichinga said.
Former student Jason Mupeta said in a Facebook post the riot by students at UNZA had not come as a surprise for him.
“If you have not lived the reality of UNZA’s sanitation issue, you can find it so easy to condemn because you don’t know what it’s like to smell a mixture of urine and excreta nearly flowing to the room you sleep in, not to mention a toilet,” he said.
On Saturday the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) said the continuous but unattended sewer spillage on the Great East Road Campus was unacceptable.
UNZALARU president Professor Andrew Phiri warned that if the situation was left unattended to it would risk the lives of members of staff, students and the general university community.
Prof Phiri said the union would not stand idle while the working environment was highly compromised and had become a health risk.
“It is not normal to embrace the continued spillage of water and smelly sewer systems, particularly at the country’s highest learning institution,” he said.
