UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) students on Tuesday staged a protest at Parliament over poor sanitation at the higher learning institution.
The students, who marched to Parliament buildings to seek audience with Munali Member of Parliament, Mike Mposha, complained that poor sanitation at the institution had become health hazard.
University of Zambia Students Union (UNZASU), vice president Evelyn Mkandawire said the students were tired of promises that nothing but fake.
“We are tired of not seeing change and yet they are saying that they are working on things. We are the youths who stayed hours on end queues and voted because we believed in the change that the Government promised.
“We as the University of Zambia, the highest learning institution in Zambia where His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia is our patron, cannot be neglected to such an extent,” Ms Mkandawire said.
She said President Hakainde Hichilema should create a platform to interact with the students so that he could appreciate the challenges that they were facing.
“We cry to God, we don’t have toilets, there is no water in the ablution blocks and we use the toilets at East Park Mall. We are tired of suffering from fungal infections and Urinary Tract Infections, these things will affect us in future,” the students chanted.
They called on Government to complete the construct of hostels at the institution, which has taken over 10 years.
Meanwhile, Mr Mposha who is Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, assured the students that the sanitation situation would be addressed.
“I was told that you are marching here and I immediately established communication with your colleagues and immediately I said I was coming here to talk to you, I have also called the Minister of Education who is actually on his way. So what we are asking is that let us have a proper meeting in the campus,” Mr Mposha said.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Gary Nkombo pleaded with the students to return to the campus where they would be addressed.
