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Lupane State University

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
LUPANE State University (LSU) has acquired land from the Victoria Falls Municipality to build a satellite campus in the resort town.

The development will come as a relief to students from Hwange district which covers Hwange and Victoria Falls towns as well as surrounding rural areas who have over the years clamoured for a college in the resort town.

Local tourism companies were importing labour because most locals lack the requisite qualifications.

Victoria Falls Town Clerk Mr Ronnie Dube said council availed 20 000 square metres of land to LSU.

“The council resolved to give some land to LSU in the spirit of promoting higher education and training in Matabeleland North in particular and Zimbabwe in general,|” he said.

LSU director of marketing and communication Mr Zwelithini Dlamini said the land will be                                                                                                   used to build a campus for the Faculty of Commerce.

“The local authority offered us land and the intention is to extend the Faculty of Commerce especially the Hospitality and Tourism department so it establishes itself in Victoria Falls.

“We envisage massive growth in tourism hence we want to move with the tide and implement Government’s vision to transform this economy,” said Mr Dlamini.

He said as the university grows, more related programmes will be introduced in future to contribute to economic development.

Mr Dlamini could, however, not say when construction is likely to start but said the university will submit its designs to council for approval before work could start.

Meanwhile, Mr Dlamini said the university is in the process of finalising relocating to its Lupane campus with the Faculty of Commerce the only one still fully operating from Bulawayo.

Faculties of Agricultural Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences have since relocated, he said.

The university was recently locked in a court battle with lecturers who were resisting relocation citing lack of accommodation.

The issue was settled by the court which ruled in favour of the university forcing the lecturers to move to the campus.

Mr Dlamini said the university management is addressing the issue of accommodation and teaching space.

He said LSU was already recruiting for January 2019 and advised prospective students to apply.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Cde Cain Mathema yesterday implored the university to urgently introduce short courses in farm management saying the province is in dire need of farm managers.

He was speaking at the funeral service for the late Zanu-PF Politburo member Cde Thokozile Mathuthu at Hwange Colliery Stadium when he implored the university’s Vice Chancellor Professor Pardon Kuipa to urgently introduce the course. — @ncubeleon