Stop using students as political tools-Makebi
By Adrian Mwanza
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Makebi Zulu has urged government to stop treating students as tools for political convenience.
Commenting on the poor sanitation at the University of Zambia (UNZA) Great East Road campus, which he described as a health hazard, Zulu said students were not political cadres and should not be treated as such.
“Students are not extras for slogans, photo opportunities and staged applause. Students are citizens, thinkers, leaders and a vital part of Zambia’s democratic and intellectual life,” Zulu said.
He said government should instead address the concerns the students had raised.
“The responsibility of the government is not to manipulate them, but to invest in them by expanding access to higher education, building more universities and ensuring that existing institutions meet acceptable health, sanitation, safety and learning standards,” he said.
Zulu said it was unacceptable that UNZA, one of the country’s most important institutions, had been allowed to deteriorate to conditions that offended human dignity.
He said the hygiene and sanitation challenges were not merely an infrastructure issue but a national shame and an indictment of an administration more interested in political praise from students than in their welfare, health and future.
“When we assume responsibility for the administration of this country, we will prioritise dignity, hygiene, rehabilitation and proper maintenance at the University of Zambia and across public institutions of higher learning. …We will respect student bodies as legitimate voices in national development, not as instruments of party propaganda,” he said.
Zulu urged students and young people to rise and make their voices heard.
Meanwhile, former University of Zambia Students Union (UNZASU) president Antonio Mwanza said the situation at the institution was not a sudden emergency but a crisis of many years as a result of prolonged neglect.
Mr Mwanza, who is also Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president, said successive governments had failed to adequately fund public universities, while management neglected to maintain infrastructure.
“What we are seeing now is a reaction, not leadership. Government must act decisively to establish a dedicated infrastructure fund, complete hostel projects, clear outstanding obligations and enforce accountability,” he said.
