A Cholera outbreak that has rocked Zimbabwe’s capital Harare in recent weeks has reportedly forced the University of Zimbabwe to postpone its graduation ceremony that had been slated for Friday.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, the learning institution’s acting vice chancellor, Professor Paul Mapfumo, made the announcement a day before the graduation ceremony after the disease had killed at least 25 people.
Cholera broke out in Harare’s western suburb of Glen View last week, triggering an emergency response by the government and international aid agencies.
“The University of Zimbabwe Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Mapfumo regrets to inform graduates, their families and the nation at large that the 2018 University of Zimbabwe graduation ceremony planned for Friday September 14, 2018 has been deferred to a date to be advised,” Mapfumo reportedly said.
Mapfumo, however, assured the public that the university remained free of the cholera outbreak.
On Friday the country’s finance minister took to Twitter to ask for donations to help the government fight the cholera outbreak.
In a tweet Mthuli Ncube, who took his oath of office on Monday, said the emergency crowdfund would “further efforts to fight cholera to date”.
According to News24, the finance minister’s tweet generated a lot of criticism from Zimbabweans.
Some pointed out that the government always managed to find official funds to purchase cars for VIPs or fund overseas travel.
“Does the right to life mean nothing at all to this new administration? If you can’t prioritize funding public health in the midst of a crisis, we are going nowhere very quickly. This is an insult,” said lawyer and independent politician, Fadzayi Mahere in a tweet.
