E10M MOTSEPE-FUNDED UNESWA PROJECT LAUNCHED

MATSAPHA – The wait is finally over, as the commencement of the Motsepe Project at UNESWA has been launched, five years after the SA billionaire, Dr Patrice Motsepe, donated E10 million to the university.

The announcement of the commencement of the project was made at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Kwaluseni Campus, during the Motsepe Project site handover meeting, which was held at the university yesterday. It was revealed that the cost of the project currently stood at E12.9 million, and that the Motsepe funds were now E13 million, inclusive of interest, which would be enough to cover the costs of construction. Two buildings will be constructed at Kwaluseni and Mbabane campuses, comprising of computer laboratories, offices, as well as classrooms. The construction is estimated to take one and a half years.

Mismanaged

The start of the project will essentially allay concerns from stakeholders and the public, who had questions on what happened to the money donated by the business magnate. There had been claims that the money may have been mismanaged, in that it may have been used for other things, other than its intended projects. The South African (SA) mining mogul donated the E10 million through the Motsepe Foundation to UNESWA during its 38th graduation ceremony in October 2018. During the ceremony, Motsepe, who completed his Bachelor of Arts in Law at UNESWA in 1984, spoke on behalf of outstanding academicians and politicians, who were conferred with honorary doctorates for excellence in their diverse disciplines.

Making his remarks during the event, UNESWA Council Chairperson Chief Mkhumbi, said the site handover was a milestone to the university. He alluded to that the aim of the project was to address the shortage of learning facilities, mainly at Kwaluseni and Mbabane Health Sciences. The chairperson highlighted that the additional classrooms would positively impact education at the university, in that they would alleviate space constraints and create a more conducive environment for students. “The event today will clear the air to doubting Thomases, because a lot of people were starting to talk about whether the project will take off, as a result of the prevailing financial constraints faced by the university,” the chief said. He went on to say some people thought the funds may have been diverted elsewhere. He said the start of the project would somehow regain trust from stakeholders, who were beginning to doubt the institution’s ability to be trusted with such funds.

Hope

Chief Mkhumbi called upon everyone not to abandon or lose hope on the pride of the nation - the university. He substantiated this by stating that they were on the path of turning the institution’s fortunes around. “Ayibuye inyuvesi yakitsi itsatse umsebenti wayo,” he reiterated. UNESWA Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Justice Thwala explained that the university would be resuming the building of two storey classrooms at Kwaluseni and Mbabane campuses. “The building at Kwaluseni has three classrooms on the ground floor and two on the first floor. The one at Mbabane will have two computer rooms on the ground floor, with offices and three classrooms on the first floor,” Professor Thwala said. He elaborated that the capacity of the classtrooms ranged from 60 to 150 students. Meanwhile, UNESWA has appealed for support in the form of furniture and equipment from the Ministry of Education and Training, to prevent the Motsepe Project from being a white elephant.

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