Student Representative Council President Tapfuma Muganiwa

Leader Tapfuma got inaugurated in January of 2022 as President of National University of Science and Technology. He had previously served as Minister of Academic Affairs from August 2019 to March 2021.

President Tapfuma Muganiwa (left) and Minister of Academic Affairs, Sean Kunda (right).

Inauguration Speech

"We need to invest more into Bunsen burners than in branded diaries and pens"

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL – PRESIDENT’S INAUGURATION SPEECH

PRESIDENT TAPFUMA MUGANIWA

The Vice Chancellor of the National University of Science and Technology Professor Dlodlo, The Registrar Mr. Ngwenya, The Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Naik, The Deputy Registrar Academic Mr Hadebe, our acting Dean of Students Mr C. Ncube, Members of stuff, The NUST Student Representative Council Members here present, all protocol observed. Salutations of the day my fellow NUSTIANS, in this first month of the year 2022. We are grateful for the gift of life and good health. I would like to believe that my fellow students are in good health mentally, physically and in all other aspects. If not, I do hope that they recover speedily.

- Where there is no vision the people perish. If our people are perishing, we should retrospect and introspect to find the limitations of our vision. Visionary leaders do not stick to the concepts learnt yesterday, neither do they discard them all, but they keep a culture of constant learning. As an institution of tertiary education, we ought to lead the way in answering to the “modern problems”. What wears out our hearts today are mental health problems. Taking one’s life has become a vivid option that many are keeping at the back of their minds each time they go through distressful times. We need to provide better options by crafting a strong society that is conscious of the mental health needs of people. It is not enough to advertise our counselling offices if have we zero students participating in extracurricular activities. All work and no play makes Jack an anxious boy. Our clubs must be active; our sports must be active; our societies must be active. The answer to this problem is stronger peer-to-peer relationships, and these can only be established as students interact in clubs and societies. As the SRC, we shall provide support for our clubs and societies. Seasonal Awareness campaigns are not enough.

- We need not to sing each time we face problems. We need now to avoid dodging our calls of duty by singing in notes of pre-recorded songs that do not solve our shared problems. We ought to swing swiftly. Muhammad Ali could sing, but swinging made him World Heavy Weight Champion. Our Vision and strategic plans which we intend to achieve by 2023, require us to swing swiftly, now! COVID-19 did not only come as a pandemic on its own but it brought with itself a pandemic of difficulties in our decision making processes. We need to maintain the health of our people as we save the fundamental right – the right to education. As we go under lockdowns, we need to keep in mind that Mental Health

Problems become an indoor pandemic, while the virus ravages outside. This is a reminder that we need to keep on checking on the wellness levels of our fellows at the workplace and at school. Let us all be our brother’s keeper and none of us shall run shot of who to talk to in times of crisis.

- My fellow NUSTIANS, it is high time we had to take back our pride as The National University of Science and Technology. The name speaks volumes. The name instructs us all to not only learn but to innovate, to industrialize, to build this nation of Zimbabwe. With our skilful minds and our visionary leadership, we can turn that dissertation project into a product. We can think in other terms and find a green energy alternative that will cut the cost of electricity in the long run. We may have been here for long but if we cannot hold each other accountable for stunted infrastructural growth then we may soon be forgotten from the history books. As we repair our campus, let us keep in mind that where the student learns is where we need to focus the more. Sockets, Wi-Fi, Sanitation are equally demanded between Delta, Applied Sciences and Chemical buildings. We need to invest more into Bunsen burners than in branded diaries and pens. We need to reach out to our partners for computer capacitation projects. I dream of a NUST where the Marketing Student starts their own booming agency. I dream of an empowered NUST student who competes in the industry and companies fight to have them join their teams. We are equally mandated to research for the next vaccines, cures and technologies. We have the human resources. We need to equip them and enhance our combined efforts for a world-class education system.

- Our heritage, our peace, our joy, our love, our diversity in colour, tribe, nationality, are all our endowments by God for the creation of a better society. Let us now hit the ground running, implementing policies and projects that build and not destroy. Let us clear our minds and begin on a clean slate. My fellows from different political perspectives, I call you to govern together with us. Our problems are not political but rather they are NUST problems that require NUST solutions, and by virtue of enrolment, every student has a right to participate in making a better NUST. Our Clubs, our Societies, Our SRC Ministries, Our Academic officers, Our Administration, Our Public Works, Our Security; all members of the community, mentioned and unmentioned, let us unite and ignite the fire of change.

- Ladies and gentlemen, our vision for 2022 is Innovation and Implementation.

- A Luta Continua.