President donates to Solusi University, meets SDA leaders

Harare Bureau

LEADERS of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Thursday paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa who implored them to continue praying for peace and stability for Zimbabwe to achieve the much-needed development without hindrance.

The courtesy call, held at Bulawayo State House, was meant to thank President Mnangagwa following his donation of a 40-seater bus, 127-horse power tractor with ploughs, planters and harrows to SDA-run Solusi University last week.

Leading the SDA delegation was Dr Micah Choga who is the President of the West Union Conference (Dean of Presidents) and Chancellor for Solusi University. Others included Pastors Godfrey Musara (President of the East Zimbabwe Union Conference), Nceku Moses Msimanga (Executive Secretary of the West Union Conference), Etwell Tapera (Central Union Conference President) and Solusi University Vice Chancellor Professor Barnold Baidya. Dr Choga said as a church, the SDA was apolitical and its focus was on spreading the word of God, reconciling people and development.

“As a church we also have a humanitarian arm which some may refer to as an NGO. Our NGO is called ADRA. This is an organisation that also responds to disaster and is involved in relief and food distribution just to name a few. Your Excellency, as leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, we have come to express our heartfelt gratitude for what you have done as the First Family in this country for our University.”

Dr Choga said their courtesy call was guided by Luke 17 verses 12-19 which talk about the 10 lepers.

“We did not want to be like the nine lepers who were ungrateful, we want to emulate the example of the one leper who came back to Jesus to say thank you. Looking at the gift, it is something that goes a long way to address not only current challenges of Solusi Unversity but also future needs. It’s a gift by its nature that leads the institution to a position where it becomes able to support itself by way of generating and increasing production for the University. It’s a gift which if managed and used well, has a potential to replace itself and even add more equipment for the university.”

Added Dr Choga: “We come here humbled by this gesture. All of us as leaders know the dilemma of leadership which also is a dilemma of parents. When you do something, somebody watching wants to know why you did it to a point of interpreting your motive. Human beings behave like teenagers who when a parent does something instead of being appreciative, they become suspicious as to why the parents did what they did. We do not want to join those who behave like teenagers, we are here to thank you for the gift which we have accepted wholeheartedly.”

To complement President Mnangagwa’s gesture businessman Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei and wife Sandra’s Bridging The Gap (BTG) Foundation chipped in with various strategic empowerment initiatives for the University.

The foundation donated another bus, tractors, trucks, trailers and vehicles. BTG, foundation, which is led by Dr Blessing Nyahuma, also laid out plans to enhance staff and students’ welfare and to improve the university curriculum.

President Mnangagwa, in his response, requested church leaders to pray for peace and stability and chronicled his attachment with Solusi University since the 1950s as his sister was part of the institution during that time.

He said tertiary students, whether at State Universities or private institutions like Solusi, are Zimbabweans who must benefit from Government programmes. He implored Solusi to focus on innovation, research, science and technology saying his donation would help to boost STEM projects at the institution.