By Editor, 24th August 2013
According to a statement from State House, President Kikwete urged public universities and associate colleges with adequate land to consult with pension funds on the possibility of financing housing projects.
President Kikwete said this move would help the universities curb the current staff housing shortages.
We understand that our universities have serious financial problems; we also know that the size of our economy cannot fully support these universities financially. We know that these universities have shortage of houses for their senior staff.
This being the case, we expected these universities which boast of the best brains to have solutions for some of the problems. For instance how can university of Dar es Salaam or Mzumbe complains about shortage of houses for its staff, while these two institutions have idle land?
First, these universities can use their surveyed land as collateral to borrow money from pensions funds or even our financial institutions for the purpose of constructing modern houses for their staff.
Not only that but also these universities can borrow a leaf from University of Dar es Salaam, which has used its idle land for multimillion dollars investment known as Mlimani City.
Even if they do not have adequate land, these universities can still find enough surveyed land for business purposes – and there’s adequate land in this country that can accommodate their business needs.
Land could be used to construct modern hostels, conference facilities, sports complex, shopping malls, residential houses for rent and many more projects, which would help these universities curb their cash flow problems.
If the brains at universities can’t think beyond government financing then what about the students who school there?
We are living in a very challenging and rapidly changing world whereby we need to reform or remain stuck at our own perils.
It’s a shame for our universities especially those, which have adequate land to continue complaining about financial problems. These universities especially Sokoine University of Agriculture would have embarked practically on the highly publicized “Kilimo Kwanza” or green revolution through joint ventures with foreign and local investors.
The best way to solve our problems is not to preach but to practical the knowledge we have learned. Our university dons have credible knowledge and therefore what they need is practicing it in order to solve various problems facing their institutions.
The best example is University of Dar es Salaam, which has done well in real estate investment though there are still a lot to be done. Others should also follow the path.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN via IPPMEDIA.COM
