Nust in hazardously parked vehicle clamping blitz

THE National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has embarked on a controversial exercise of clamping vehicles deemed to be hazardously parked despite the university not having any marked parking lots.

The blitz has attracted a backlash from students and staff members who expressed outrage, saying the university should first identify parking and mark it clearly before they start clamping their vehicles.

When one's vehicle is clamped they are expected to pay a fine of $10 before the car is released.

NUST director of communication and marketing Mr Felix Moyo confirmed the exercise, noting that this was not a new phenomenon within the university but they were simply enforcing a rule that has always been there.

"We are simply enforcing a rule that has always been there. In the past we had been giving cautions but with recent upsurge in the vehicle population we noted that people are becoming more and more careless in their parking with some even blocking others thus causing serious disruptions which is why we decided to revive this exercise so that people become more careful in the manner they park their vehicles," said Mr Moyo.

However, students and staff members who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity accused the institution of instigating the blitz as a fund raising mechanism.

"The blitz was upped during the examination writing period where university security details wait for students to start writing then they start clamping the vehicles, meaning that after writing their exams students then find their vehicles clamped.

"What boggles the mind is that there is no clear parking area at the university hence students have to improvise their own parking, meaning that if anyone is to be clamped, the entire university has to be clamped because there is nowhere marked as a parking lot. My belief is if someone is clamped for wrongful parking there should be a marked area where they are supposed to park," said a student.

It is further alleged that the university's security officials are given the autonomy to decide which areas are illegal to park and which areas are not.

"As staff members we told them from the start that this clamping will cause huge problems for the university, which is what is happening right now. You cannot really give a security guard all that power, they will surely abuse it.

"While we understand that the university can do as it feels like because this is private property they should not abuse their authority at the end of the day, such policies are uncouth. We must not forget that we are dealing with students here and knowing that most of them are struggling to make ends meet for them to attain their degrees we then clamp their vehicles and insist that they pay $10, it is just unfair," said another source.

Security officials who were spotted clamping a vehicle last week said they had been instructed to carry out the exercise by the university officials.

"We are targeting people who park willy-nilly, parking in places where it is clear that they should not park, people should simply use common sense when parking. There is no need for any markings honestly, its just common sense," said the security official who declined to be named.