ZIMBABWE: Water woes, strike hit higher education

Zimbabwe's government has appointed a ministerial team headed by its deputy prime minister to deal with a water crisis at two of its universities. Meanwhile, lecturers at polytechnics and teacher colleges have gone on strike for better pay on the eve of examinations.

There are fears of a health hazard at the University of Zimbabwe and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) due to water shortages, three years after more than 4,000 Zimbabweans succumbed to cholera due to lack of safe drinking water.

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara (pictured), a former University of Zimbabwe student leader who was in 1989 charged by President Robert Mugabe's government for distributing 'subversive materials', is heading the ministerial team that was announced by Higher and Tertiary Minister Stan Mudenge.

Three years go, UNICEF sank 13 boreholes at the University of Zimbabwe to avert a cholera crisis. But the action fell short of facilitating the reopening of student halls of residence.

The problems at the university in the capital Harare came as the city council urged residents to brace themselves for continued water shortages, with water demand outstripping supply. The city said it was currently processing only 650 megalitres of water a day against a daily demand of 1,200 megalitres.

In the country's second largest city Bulawayo, where NUST is based, there are also water shortages. There have been plans to draw water from the Zambezi River that divides Zimbabwe and Zambia. But those plans have been on the cards since 1912 and have failed to see the light of day, mostly because of lack of political will.

A study done in 2010 by Remigios Mangisvo, a lecturer in the geography and environmental studies department at Zimbabwe Open University, attributed the water crisis in urban centres to poor rainfall, insufficient trained water resources personnel, population growth, ageing infrastructure, lack of funds (including foreign currency) and corruption, among other factors.

Mangisvo wrote in his report that Zimbabwe's urbanisation rates, which are among the highest in the world, were "exerting unbearable pressure on the water". And Zimbabwe is not alone: water experts say that most cities Southern Africa have not been able to develop basic utilities for water and waste to keep pace with rapid growth.

According to a story on the Independent Online website, in August the African Development Bank granted US$29.6 million to five Zimbabwean cities for upgrading water and sewage systems. The grant was prompted by the 2008 cholera epidemic and the need to ensure water security into the future.

Meanwhile, the water crisis has compounded problems in Zimbabwe's higher education sector, where lecturers at state-run polytechnics and teachers colleges have gone on strike demanding better pay. There are 28 polytechnics and teacher colleges in Zimbabwe and students are currently preparing for examinations.

The lecturers are demanding US$1,200 a month, the minimum salary for university lecturers, at a time when the lowest paid is currently earning US$220.

David Dzatsunga, President of the College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe, accused the government of favouritism, saying it had awarded lecturers at universities a pay rise but omitted those at polytechnics and colleges, even though they held similar qualifications.

A report in The Herald quoted Dzatsunga: "Traditionally, we have been getting 70% of what they earn but the gap is too wide. The abnormality does not mean we begrudge university lecturers at all, but we are even earning less than university general hands and that's why we are saying government should respect us."

Dzatsunga said they had notified government early in September of planned industrial action but had received no response.

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