“The Adventist church made an application for a piece of land for the purpose of a university and council decided to donate the land because it will realise downstream benefits out of that investment,” Town Clerk, Alex Mandigo, said in an interview. “Our community stands to benefit from job creation during construction and also when the university starts operating.”
Mandigo said the university would be the first tertiary institution in the town and schools from Chegutu and surrounding areas will feed into it. He said the university will also benefit people from nearby towns and areas like Kadoma, Sanyati, Gweru and Mhondoro.
Mandingo added that the university, which would be constructed in phases, will offer a wide range of courses and construction is expected to commence once all the paper work was completed.
Project implementers are currently carrying out feasibility studies. If the project is approved, the Adventist Church-run institution would be the second university after Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) in Mashonaland West province. The church also runs Solusi University in Matabeleland South province.
News about the university coincided with President Robert Mugabe’s announcement that preparations for the establishment of universities have gained momentum in three provinces which had no state universities.
Provinces without state universities are Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East and Manicaland.
