Government millions for hostels may not be enough

The dire shortage of student accommodation at higher and tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe has forced thousands of students into overcrowded living spaces in a bid to sidestep high rent for private accommodation. The government and institutions’ US$102-million effort to alleviate the situation might just not be enough.

Only about 10% of Zimbabwean higher and tertiary education students live in campus accommodation, Professor Amon Murwira, the minister of higher and tertiary education, science and technology development, said in 2019. Zimbabwe has at least 200,000 students in higher and tertiary education.

The deputy director for education, Maria Angela Adriano, told University World News most private partners they called on to help build student accommodation did not honour the call.

“So we have encouraged universities to build their own facilities with the support of the government public works programme. But institutions like the MSU [Midlands State University, Gweru] managed to complete their student hostels without the intervention of government,” she said.

Doug Tigere, the national coordinator for the non-profit student interests-focused organisation Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe, told University World News that the shortage of student accommodation was so bad that, in most institutions, students are being forced to come in batches, yet the available accommodation facilities are still not enough.

“Most students are forced to rent in nearby communities but, because of exorbitant rent, they end up sharing crowded facilities, exposing themselves to all sorts of perils,” he said. “The efforts to alleviate student accommodation are commendable, but they are still short of what is required.”

Building designs approved

In the meantime, state-owned infrastructure finance institution, the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) has bid for a consulting firm to undertake a title survey and registration of title deeds for on-campus student accommodation at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe (CUZ).

The recruitment of a consultant for the project heralds the beginning of preparatory work for the construction of an eight-block accommodation complex with capacity to accommodate 992 students at the CUZ Harare Campus. The IDBZ will coordinate raising the US$12.4 million needed for the project.

Although IDBZ CEO Thomas Zondo Sakala declined to comment on the status of the projects, a bank progress report showed that the Harare City Council had approved building designs and plans for CUZ student accommodation.

An environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and the engagement of a consultant to carry out a sectional title survey to facilitate land carve-out were under way as well.

The CUZ project is one of six university projects – Lupane State University (LSU), Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), Bindura University of Science Education, MSU and the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), where primary work has begun on building hostels for 8,612 students at a total cost of US$101.9 million.

More private investors wanted

An estimated US$12.5 million is required for the construction of a campus hostel at CUT that will house 1,516 students. Building plans for the project have been approved, a sectional survey completed with carving of land at the project site and an ESIA in progress.

At LSU, a multi-storey hostel to house 1,204 students and a shopping mall are planned at a combined cost of US$25 million. A site for the project has been acquired while the Lupane local board is considering building designs.

The Gweru student accommodation complex involves a student hostel with a capacity for 2,400 students and a shopping mall. The cost is estimated at US$22.9 million. Preliminary designs and topographical surveys for the project are complete with site acquisition and the layout plan being finalised.

Work at the 2,500 capacity GZU students and staff accommodation complex at a cost of US$29 million is at the initiation phase.

In the 17 March IDBZ financial statement for the year ended 31 December 2020, Sakala said ZWL3.55 million (then US$68,375) was disbursed towards project preparation activities of the university hostel projects and the Getjenge and Sumben Housing Projects. The projects are all expected to reach bankability in 2021, he said.

The IDBZ’s first student accommodation project, a joint venture with three institutional investors, is 67% complete. It will accommodate at least 1,000 students at the National University of Science and Technology.

Presently, the MSU is looking for a public-private partner to construct student accommodation facilities and other critical university infrastructure.