Alumni to petition UB against demolition of old buildings

MPHO TLALE
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 29, 2012 00:00

 

The alumni committee sent an email to its members, which Mmegi is in possession of,  urging support for the petition. The former students request the management of the institution to stop the demolition process and retain the old campus  buildings in the western part of the university.

Some of the blocks earmarked for demolition include Blocks 201, 205 and 211, among others.The alumni state that the buildings are the identity of the UB campus as they go back to the Motho le Motho Kgomo era.

They say that the buildings form the foundation of UB as there are the first buildings of the institution.They argue that most of the buildings have sentimental value to most  people who studied at the institution. 'The buildings have a specific character that defines the university campus as a community in terms of their orientation and uniformity and design,' the statement says.

The university has issued a tender for the demolition of the buildings whose deadline was August 17th. The tender UBT 2012/2013 27  invited tenders from companies  with established reputation to undertake the proposed decommissioning of old buildings at the University of Botswana, Gaborone Main Campus.

Contacted for comment, the alumni committee said that they are yet to talk to UB management first.