Help came at the right time for UMP’s student

A 26-year-old University of Mpumalanga (UMP) student was almost on the verge of committing suicide after she had been sent from pillar to post regarding lease documents between her former landlord and UMP.

This comes after Ntobeko Chibi* decided to move from her original accommodation to a new one in June. This is when the landlord asked her for her outstanding balance of three months and refused to sign movement forms for her.

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“This is affecting my schoolwork tremendously as a final-year student. I even feel that to solve this whole situation the answer would be to take my own life. The university opened last week, but I have not attended a single lecture because I am not yet in my new place because I haven’t paid. I don’t have internet at home and my family are not taking the matter seriously,” Chibi said.

The dean of student affairs, Dr Paul Maminza, stated he is aware of the student’s issue.

“The administrative assistant of student housing, who deals with the processing of documents for submission to finance to make the necessary payments, indicated that the lease agreement he had received from the landlord was for 2020, not 2021.

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“I spoke to the landlord who informed me that she had submitted a 2021 lease agreement. This disputes the claim that she had submitted a 2020 lease agreement.

I then requested that she email me the one for 2021 so that I can assist with the payment. This took place last Tuesday. The landlord promised to send it. I followed up with her again on Friday when I realised that I had not received the lease agreement. She told me that she was unable to go to the office because she was feeling unwell. She promised to send it to me on August 2.”

Maminza said the university had agreed to assist Chibi and would have student housing pay the new landlord since the old one had not yet sent the lease agreement as per their arrangement.

“We also met with the student here on campus and updated her on the developments. We will deal with the previous landlord separately when she submits her lease agreement so that payment can be made to her for the period of the student’s stay,” said Maminza.

He added that payments for the NSFAS allowances need to be done in strict adherence to rules to avoid any irregular payments. Chibi was receiving counselling from UMP to help her cope with the current situation. * Not her real name