No pay for Mak lecturers, says varsity council boss

Kampala.

Makerere University lecturers will not receive their salaries until the university reopens, the University Council chairperson, Charles Wana-Etyem has said.

Dr Wana-Etyem said though the government had released some money for the wage bill, the university is unable to make its contribution due to the closure.

Through a November 25 letter to the staff, Dr Wana-Etyem said: “...the university shall not be able to pay the salaries until it reopens and students have paid fees.” It is still not clear when the university, which President Museveni drawing from his constitutional powers closed on November 1 following the academic staff strike, will reopen.

Reacting to the letter, Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa) spokesperson, Dr Deus Kamunyu, on Sunday said it’s “unfortunate and disturbing” that [the] university cannot afford to pay staff salaries.

He added that it also shows government has been discriminating Makerere University lecturers by paying 100 per cent of the salaries of staff in other public universities while leaving Makerere to partly pay themselves. The university contributes 40 per cent to staff salaries while government contributes 60 per cent.

The university’s deputy vice chancellor finance and administration Prof Barnabas Nawangwe told Daily Monitor the university spends between Shs2.7b and Shs3b on wage bill per month depending on the number of staff who retire and new ones that are added on the payroll. At the time of closure, the university had only Shs5b on its accounts.

Prof Nawangwe said the university will use this money to pay other utilities such as water, electricity and water.

The lecturers under their pressure group Makerere university academic staff association have been on strike since October 26 demanding payment of incentives amounting to Shs28b. They say they have not been paid incentives since February. By end of June, the university had accumulated Shs37b incentive arrears.

Makerere management says the university is operating at 45 establishment (staff on government payroll) meaning that the university must divert internally generated revenue to pay part-timers and contract lecturers.

Two weeks ago, Ms Rose Nassali Lukwago, the outgoing permanent secretary Ministry of Education, said in her November 14, letter to the University Secretary, Mr Charles Barugahare, that despite the indefinite closure, staff were still entitled to their monthly pay.

The statistics

According to university statistics, during the first quarter of 2016-17 financial year, the university collected Shs67.9b and spent Shs57.3b. The university spent Shs46.4b on employee costs (salaries) meaning that 81 per cent of the total revenues collected. At the start of the year, Makerere staff totalled 3,533 employees. This figure constitutes teaching staff (1632), administrative staff (347) and support staff (1554).