In many parts of the world, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, universities are confronted with the challenges of dependence on public resources within neoliberal contexts characterized by state underfunding and the
politicization of university governance. Amid these rising fiscal precarities and state pressures on higher education, scholars in resource-dependent contexts are increasingly facing constraints on their academic
freedom. Using the example of the University of Zambia, this essay investigates the issues academics encounter when operating in the context of financial limitations and political interference in the Global South. It highlights the difficulties in pursuing independent research and disseminating critical knowledge
under conditions of resource dependence and external political pressures. The UNZA experience demonstrates the stakes of compromised academic freedom, proposing a rethinking of strategies for fostering
intellectual independence and institutional autonomy in resource-limited settings.