Bulawayo businessman Samuriwo rescues NUST

BULAWAYO businessman, Mr Brian Samuriwo has come to the rescue of the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) after he financed the installation of a solar system to power the campus radio station whose continuous broadcasting was being affected by power cuts.

The new 4,5 kilowatt solar system will enable Nust FM Campus Radio Station to have a constant power supply, ensuring uninterrupted broadcasting services.

The studio station requires approximately 1,5KW to power the lights, studio equipment, as well as air conditioners. It has an automatic change-over system in case of power cuts.

The incessant power cuts were threatening the radio station’s license as part of the regulations to run a radio station including the need for a consistent power supply.

Speaking during the donation handover ceremony at the university yesterday, Mr Samuriwo, who is also Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial secretary for business, said the assistance follows realisation of the challenges facing the development of journalism in Bulawayo.

“As a businessman, I have been given this opportunity by God to solve problems whenever they are. When I received a call, I just had to respond and help.

“As Bulawayo, we are very pleased to have this Campus Radio Station and I’m quite happy to be part of the development process. I was told that the power gap was threatening the radio station’s license and we could not just stand by and watch when such developmental projects are affected,” said Mr Samuriwo.

He said he was also fulfilling President Mnangagwa’s vision and philosophy that only Zimbabweans can build their country by addressing the prevailing challenges.

“For us to have a better Zimbabwe, a better Bulawayo, us the people from Bulawayo should be able to build their territory so that we can move forward. This is exactly what has driven me to help Nust because I’m a Bulawayo boy and want to see Nust progress,” said Mr Samuriwo.

Nust Vice Chancellor, Professor Mqhele Dlodlo expressed gratitude to Mr Samuriwo, describing his gesture as the kind of partnership that is needed for the development of the university.

He said the university risked losing its radio license due to failure to continuously broadcast as stipulated by law.

“I couldn’t be more excited about this development. We were going for long periods off air because of power cuts and people were getting disappointed. We fought quite a while to get these licences until the correct legislation was put in place resulting in the rolling out of university campus radios,” said Prof Dlodlo.

“The license was under threat because of power challenges and this was a matter of serious concern. We are grateful that you shared this with us.”

Prof Dlodlo said power cuts are not just affecting the campus radio station but other learning areas at the university.

“As you are aware, we are doing blended learning, which means online as well as physical. Online gets affected when power goes down, students’ laptops would need to be powered from something and we don’t have that power resource at the moment,” he said.

“But now, laptops in the studio and studio equipment, when there are power cuts, will remain on solar. That is a major way forward where you can bank on power supply,” said Prof Dlodlo.

He said going forward, the university is considering setting up a solar farm to effectively harness the abundant energy from the sun but will start with solarising institutional rooftops.

“That is the ultimate step, right now we are doing it one installation at a time where we are using a rooftop where we are using solar panels and batteries so that we can have continuous power even throughout the night,” he said.

“Eventually, we are working towards a solar farm. The planning has been done and the costing is still underway and some aspects of that is when you get partners in the private sector such as Mr Samuriwo that dream becomes visible, you can see the light beginning to shine on those dreams,” he said. —@nqotshili.