No Need to Cerebrate Youth Day, UNZA Student
By Staff Reporter
A University of Zambia youth says there is no reason to celebrate youth day when their concerns are bluntly being ignored.
In a statement to newsdayzambia.com this morning Cuthbert Bwalya Theo complained that after a long , boring and stressful six months forced vacation, the university was opening but without adequate accommodation for the students.
“From time immemorial, many of us who are not lucky enough with accommodation have survived through squatting. I know that sounds rhetoric but it’s an ugly truth. Only 3,500 students are accommodated against 24,000 plus students who have to find means of surviving in campus,” said Theo.
He said it was sad to note that despite authorities having ignored this challenge for a very long time now, they now have strictly banned squatting, a move with potential to cause more chaos and problems than what squatting would cause.
“Let us be reasonable and empathetic here, surely where do you think me and thousand others will stay? Boarding houses with these ritual killings? With the exorbitant prices they come with? Poor sanitation, long distance to and from school, insecure and unnecessary inconvenience?,” asked Theo.
Theo also questioned the deployment of soldiers in campus with so many security check points.
“There are really huge challenges that require urgent responses than celebrating youth day. Besides, what’s there to celebrate about?, Do you want our girls to be victims of rape? Prostitution in a bid to meet ends? You want my SETs (private parts) and those of my fellow monks taken as delicacy in some parts of Matero?” asked Theo.
