OPEN LETTER TO UNZA STUDENTS REGARDING THE LACK OF TOILET FACILITIES ON CAMPUS
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
Dear UNZA Students,
1. I trust that you are all doing well in all aspects of student life. As for me, l am saddened to learn of your continued predicament of lack of ablution facilities at you institution. I first became aware of this your problem sometime early last year, and l did not want to weigh in on it at that time because l believed that it was a temporary matter which your institution would quickly resolve in a few days, or at the most, a few weeks. However, more than a year down the line, l am shocked to learn that the issue of lack of toilets at UNZA has persisted, and that you have normalized walking a kilometer to East Park Mall to relieve yourselves.
2. Look here ladies and gentlemen, that accommodation which you have there at UNZA is not free of charge. Last time when l was sponsoring a nephew there, l had to pay about K3,900 for accommodation per annum. According to the Landlord and Tenants Act Cap 193 of the laws of Zambia, a landlord has a legal obligation to provide a tenant with ablution facilities in a rented dwelling. By failing to provide you with toilet facilities and yet continuing to collect accommodation fees, the UNZA Management is not only in breach of the law, but also reflects a low moral standing.
3. A week or two ago, l saw the protest which you did at the entrance to Parliament in which you demanded for toilet facilities at your institution. However, my considered view is that you were directing your grievances to the wrong people. Our legislators have the noble responsibility of enacting laws for the nation, and should not be inundated with petty issues such as lack of toilet facilities at your institution. That issue must be resolved between yourselves as tenants, and the UNZA Management as your landlord.
4. The question then becomes; what is the best way to resolve your toilet crisis? Before we address this question, allow me to offer you some counsel. I know that most of you are between the ages of 18 and 26, and therefore just starting out on your life’s journey. As someone who is older than most of you, l can tell you for a fact that in life people will treat you the way you allow them to treat you. You have gone for several years without proper toilets because you have allowed UNZA Management to exploit you, despite the millions of Kwacha that they collect every year in accommodation fees.
5. Before l go any further, l want to remind you that you occupy a very important and special place in our society. You see, the majority of our 19 million citizens are not literate. Out of the few that are literate, even fewer have had the opportunity to pursue a Degree. In other words, you are the elite of our society. But before you fill yourselves with a sense of self-importance, l want to remind you that being the elite of our society comes with responsibilities. One such responsibility is that you must speak and advocate for the voiceless who do not have the privilege to understand or articulate issues the way you can. You need to stand up not only for yourselves but for the masses in our society. But how are you going to do that if you are failing to assert your own rights? If you are being denied toilet facilities by your landlord despite always paying your rent on time, and your only solution is to walk to East Park Mall?
6. When l was a university student myself, l used to have very little time especially around the exam period. I remember how my room-mate and l came up with a formula of cooking enough food to last us a week every Sunday evening, then portioning the food and keeping it frozen in the fridge. Everyday we would just spend 5 minutes warming it, another 5 minutes eating and we go back to the library. That is how precious time was when l was at campus. And l just can’t imagine having to walk for a kilometer to East Park Mall and another kilometer back, just to go and do a number 2.
7. There is no question in my mind that you have been abused, violated, disrespected and taken for granted by UNZA Management. There is also no question in my mind that this abuse, disrespect and exploitation will continue for as long as you do not do something decisive about it. There are a number of options available at your disposal, so perhaps we can look at each one of them, and their potential effectiveness to achieve the desired results. The first possible option is to protest. Apparently you have already exhausted this option based on your recent protest at the entrance to Parliament, which of course did not achieve the desired goal as it was poorly attended. For a protest to succeed, you need numbers so that you can attain critical mass. It is understandable that some students, especially the female folks, would feel shy to publicly protest over issues of toilet facilities. That brings us to the second possible solution; commencing legal action against UNZA Management in the courts of law. However, that requires time and money. Two things which an average student doesn’t have.
8. This brings us to the third, and in my view, best possible solution. Instead of walking two kilometers to East Park Mall, just go and dump your number 2 at the University administration offices. Priority should be given to the Vice Chancellor’s office as well as the Dean of Students office, but any administration office is fair game. Just do it all over the place; the staircase, the parking lot, the corridors etcetera. The good thing about this proposed solution is that you will be guaranteed of very quick results. Secondly, it is cost effective as you will not require any additional resources to achieve the objective. Just your ordinary meals will suffice in enabling you to deliver. Thirdly, this solution will not require everyone’s participation. Meaning that even if those who are shy stay away from participating, just 5 to 10 monks are enough to deliver the message loud and clear.
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SET 16.03.2023