Dear Mr President,
RE: THE HELSB BURSARY LOANS DEDUCTIONS RESTRUCURE CAMPAIGN
Mr President, Hakainde Hichilema, we would like to once again congratulate you on your victory over the general elections which took place exactly 9 months and 10 days ago. We would like to remind you that many students and graduates alike voted for you based on the promises you were making during campaigns, which you said you were going to deliver immediately you got elected. We would like to find out Mr President, isn’t 9 months and 10 days immediately enough?
We appreciate the assistance rendered by the government to poor students who otherwise may not manage the costs associated with tertiary education. We are happy to pay back so that other people can also benefit in the same vain. But graduates having to pay back twice the loan they accumulated is too exorbitant to say the least. Loan deductions which sometimes go beyond 60% of a beneficiary’s basic salary is inconsiderate and draconian for many graduates to bear.
Most of us come from poor backgrounds and are breadwinners in our families. Paying taxes, fending for our families and at the same time servicing exorbitant loans for ten years when the cost of living is becoming higher by the day has been unbearable. When you were in opposition you sympathized with bursary loans beneficiaries, we would like to entertain the thought that you haven’t forgotten about your campaign promises sir.
Mr President we would like you to know that we will keep on campaigning and we are willing and ready to go to any lengths until you restructure the loan and bursary scheme. The UPND government needs to deliver on the following campaign promises:-
- Suspend the loan deductions until the economy stabilizes
- Reduce loan deductions to 2.5% of a beneficiary’s basic salary.
- Scrape off the interest rate on the loans.
We organized a lone protest which took place on 18th May, 2022. We also filed in our petition to the ministry of Education concerning our campaign on the same material day. We are giving the ministry of education 14 days to respond to our petition after which if nothing happens, we will stage a protest we have framed “THE LONG WALK TO STATE HOUSE.”
David Chishimba
HELSB Bursary Loans Restructure Campaign Coordinator