Johannesburg - A Cape Town business couple has donated a block of flats to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in response to the student accommodation crisis.
Solly Nagdee, a prominent businessman in Bellville, and his wife Khairu Nagdee, gave the block of 30, two-bedroom flats to the UWC.
UWC spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo, on Wednesday said the building located in Kuils River, would be able to accommodate 120 beds.
Tyhalibongo said the apartments would undergo renovation from next week, as some of them were still occupied till the end of the month when the tenants would move out.
“The university will announce other infrastructural developments in the next few weeks that are geared at addressing the shortage in student accommodation,” Tyhalibongo said.
During the official handover at the UWC Rector’s office last month, Nagdee said that they could not turn a blind eye to what was happening in their community.
“We are aware of the struggles the University of the Western Cape and students face. Too many students de-register because they cannot afford the cost of accommodation and transport,” Nagdee said.
Mrs Nagdee said this donation to UWC was not the first one.
“Some vacant plots adjoining university ground were donated in 2013 specifically, as we were told at the time, for much needed administration offices,” Khairu Nagdee.
The Nagdees are owners of a number of TOTAL filling stations around Cape Town and have been residents of Bellville South since the early 1960s.
African News Agency