by Christopher Makaza
MDC aligned students union, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) is reportedly working to attract attention from George Soros so that they qualify as beneficiaries of his recently launched fund.
Soros is a Hungarian-American billionaire who has set aside a US $1 billion fund for the establishment of a Global Open Society University Network (OSUN) to sponsor anti-Government student activism in what he called authoritarian regimes.
The 89 year old billionaire announced the $1 billion donation during the World Economic Forum held at Davos in Switzerland on 27 January to what he said was a new international network of universities aimed at promoting liberal education, following the far-right Hungarian government’s expulsion of the Soros-founded Central European University. The initiative, he said, was part of that long-term strategy to push back against the growing trend of authoritarianism everywhere.
The fund, Soros said, qualified to what he termed politically endangered scholars.
Since Soros’ announcement of the funding, ZINASU students in collaboration with MDC youths have upped anti-Government protests in the name of fee hikes to attract to the donor fund.
Relatedly, MDC Students Council wrote a letter to Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira demanding that fees in tertiary institutions be reduced or else they demonstrate. The opposition students union`s existence is in violation of the University Act which does not recognise politically affiliated students unions.
ZINASU in collaboration with the MDC youths have planned to hold massive demonstrations in the name of fee hikes when universities open on 24 February with a view to disrupting the smooth flow of the opening day.
On 23 January ZINASU picketed at Professor Murwira`s office also protesting against fees hikes at state owned tertiary institutions.
According to a source within ZINASU, the students union and MDC youths are holding meetings every weekend at Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRTH) in preparation for the demonstrations. The source further revealed that MDC legislators have since been tasked by the opposition leadership to provide transport to ferry students to and from Harare after demonstrations.
