By Sihle Mavuso
There was a temporary sigh of relief for off-campus students of the University of Zululand in Empangeni after their landlords put on hold plans to evict them for non-payment of their accommodation fees.
The landlords had intended to evict the students by 5pm today following a deadlock with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS ).
The eviction would have affected about 2,000 students who live in the many residences outside the campus of KwaDlangezwa.
The decision to evict the students was taken after a mass meeting held in Mthunzini over the weekend.
The landlords said the new NSFAS system has resulted in non-payment, yet they were keeping their residences open.
“These costs incurred include payment of cleaning staff, the security services, wi-fi connectivity, water, electricity, maintenance, and other services,” reads part of the memo which was sent to the university and NSFAS, and leaked to Scrolla.Africa.
“We as Unizulu accommodation service providers [have] no choice other than to close our res accommodation on Monday the 18th of March 2024 should we not receive payment in full by close of business this Monday,” the memo reads.
Chairperson of the landlords’ association, Phakama Nhassengo, confirmed the memo.
However, at about 6pm today, Nhassengo said the landlords had decided to hold off on the eviction after NSFAS called another urgent meeting with the university.
“We also felt that these are our black kids and it would be inhumane to throw them out while the talks are ongoing,” Nhassengo said.
“We decided to suspend the evictions because NSFAS said it would make arrangements to get us paid by 20 March (Wednesday).”
Siyanda Mtambo, the university’s director for communications and marketing, said: “The University of Zululand is aware of the ongoing engagements between the landlords of off-campus residences and NSFAS.
“However, this matter pertains to NSFAS systems and not those of the University of Zululand,” he said.
Pictured above: Students from the University of Zululand attend a recent leadership course.
Source: Facebook
