70 BASOTHO STUDENTS LEFT STRANDED IN HARARE

Seventy Basotho students studying medicine at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) are now stranded in Harare after the Lesotho government withdrew their monthly allowances in January this year, leaving them without any means to pay for their study permits among other necessary expenses. Lesotho, through the Ministry of Health, signed an agreement with the Zimbabwe government under which Basotho students would undergo five-year medical studies at the UZ beginning 2011. Under the agreement, the student doctors would receive scholarships and US$3000 annual food allowances each renewable every academic year, through the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS). But according to some of the learners who spoke to Public Eye from Harare on Tuesday this week, the NMDS announced the immediate withdrawal of the allowances beginning January 2013, on the grounds the UZ was supposed to be providing them with meals. The students however, told Public Eye they did not only use the money to buy food, but also pay for their annual study permits, transport-fee to and from home as well in Zimbabwe, and other study material the NMDS does not cater for. The Zimbabwe government has reportedly since given the students an April 8 deadline to either acquire the permits or face deportation. “The cut came as a shock to us, particularly when the NMDS is claiming we are being fed by the varsity. We have always complained to the NMDS that it is very difficult for us to get used to the meals served here at the university due to the cultural differences in recipes,” one of the students said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation. The student said Basotho learners at the UZ often fall ill after eating meals provided by the varsity, with the most common sickness being diarrhoea. “There is no way we are going to survive in Harare without the allowances, as the cost of living in Zimbabwe is very high due to the United States-dollar the county adopted in 2010. Most of us come from extremely poor families and it is impossible for our parents to send us enough money for our upkeep here in Zimbabwe,” another student said. Another student also said prices for “virtually everything”, especial basic commodities, were “outrageous” in Zimbabwe, adding even when they were getting the allowances, survival was also extremely tough. “Some of us are orphans, while others have unemployed parents. We used the allowances to pay for our study permits as the NMDS does not pay for these documents, and each permit costs US$300 per year (roughly M3000). We also used the money to pay for other medical examination services such as x-rays, which cost US$50 (M500) per examination, and must be conducted before the study permit is issued,” yet another student said. The trainee doctors added they were all now facing deportation after failing to pay for the study permits due to the withdrawal of the allowances. They added most had again failed to find bus-fare so they could come home for the Easter holidays and also confront the NMDS and health ministry officials over the issue since the allowances were terminated when they were already in Zimbabwe. “We are now looking for a Good Samaritan to give us a lift to Lesotho because most, if not all of us, are broke. We intend to confront the relevant authorities there in Maseru so they could tell us what exactly is happening.” Meanwhile, the students are also angry the NMDS director Dr Letholetseng Ntsike, did not directly respond to their letter of January 30. The letter, which the students emailed to Public Eye on Tuesday this week, reads: “It is with this letter that us, as Basotho medical students at the University of Zimbabwe, request your good office to look into the issue of stipend allowance deduction carefully. “This decision came at a very critical time of the academic year when we are preparing to write our final examinations. We are afraid this will have a negative impact on our school performance. This is owing to the fact that we had already planned, either physically or psychologically, over the money. Furthermore, we had already used up all the last semester allowances as we depend heavily on this money. “We understand there is need to cut the stipend, but we are humbly requesting that the matter be implemented or dealt with at the beginning of the next academic year (January) when we will be renewing our contracts. The students further wrote to a certain Dr Tlale, the coordinator of Lesotho Medical Students in Zimbabwe in the Ministry of Health, on March 19. The letter, which was also copied to the Minister of Health Dr Pinkie Manamolela, Minister of Development Planning Dr Moeketsi Majoro, and Minister of Finance Dr Leketekete Ketso, partly reads: “The NMDS has declared an immediate 100 percent deduction of our stipends starting this semester, and this comes as a shock and surprise to us since the NMDS claims that we are being fed at school. The NMDS also claims we therefore owe all the stipend moneys that we have already received in the previous semesters. “We are already struggling to prepare for our final examinations since we cannot afford to buy study material. Furthermore, we are also desperate to get the stipend to pay for our study permits since we are illegally staying in Zimbabwe hence facing deportation by the Zimbabwe Immigration Office anytime. “We are humbly appealing to you and all stake holders to reverse the decision by the NMDS. Failure to do this, we are requesting for our  immediate withdrawal from Zimbabwe as we have already spent a long time with no stipends this semester and our survival is becoming increasingly impossible by the day. We can’t survive without the money. If we do not get a positive response by Wednesday, 27 March 2013, we will be on our way home as it is impossible to continue effectively with our studies under these conditions.” Contacted for comment yesterday, an emotional Dr Manamolela said she was doing “everything” within her powers to address the matter “amicably”. “It will be very degrading to us, as government, should those students have their studies terminated due to the problem of allowances. The Ministry of Health sent them there to study medicine because there is a crisis here in Lesotho concerning a shortage of medical doctors. “I am also aware the students have been given until April 8 to have their study permits ready, otherwise they would be deported. That is why I am saying I am doing everything possible to ensure the matter is addressed.” She explained the allowances had been cut after the NMDS realised it had also been paying for the students’ meals directly to the UZ—a mistake she said had been made by the Ministry of Development Planning. “At the moment, I have already engaged all the relevant authorities to see how we can assist these students get allowances because they depend on the money. We have a lot of students that the NMDS pays for their fees in South Africa, which is double the amount the students in Zimbabwe had been getting. I’m going to make sure they get those allowances one way or the other, and this matter will be solved once and for all.”