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President Mugabe installs Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe as Harare Institute of Technology Vice Chancellor during a graduation ceremony in Harare yesterday

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
President Mugabe yesterday capped 277 graduates at the fifth graduation ceremony of the Harare Institute of Technology which coincided with the installation of Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe as the first Vice Chancellor.
The graduates excelled in disciplines that include engineering and technology, industrial science, information science and technology, and business and management Sciences.

All the five first class degrees were scooped by female students.
Eng Kanhukamwe said the institution was structuring its programmes in line with the country’s economic blueprint, Zim-Asset. Last year, 182 students graduated.

HIT would soon embark on research projects that would help realise Zim-Asset objectives. “We have embraced the Zim-Asset blueprint and have come up with tactical plans that are re-energising our focus on technology and engineering designs that seek to address directly the myriad of challenges that are being faced by the ordinary people, industry, business and various service sectors of our economy,” he said.

“With regards to the mining sector and in line with value addition and beneficiation of our mineral wealth, the researchers from HIT have determined the feasibility of using eluting circuits to separate gold from other base metals instead of using caustic cyanide as is currently being done in the country.”

Eng Kanhukanwe said caustic cyanide was hazardous and damages the environment. He said the university had made several technological advances and had scooped local and international awards for its achievements. Notwithstanding its vast achievements, Eng Kanhukamwe said the university faced challenges.

“No funding has been forthcoming despite having an extremely complex mandate which is equipment and consumables intensive,” he said.
“It is our sincere hope that cadetship disbursements improve so we are capacitated to respond to transport deficiencies within the university as well as responding to other operational challenges.”

Eng Kanhukamwe said he was humbled by his appointment as vice chancellor for HIT. “It is incredibly humbling and such a privilege and honour for me to stand before Your Excellence and Chancellor to accept the weighty responsibility of this appointment as the inaugural Vice Chancellor of the Harare Institute of Technology at this point in time in the history of our country.”

Eng Kanhukamwe pledged to do his best to ensure that HIT responded well to the country’s broader developmental agenda.