MUASA leaders: We won’t denounce the strike until we are fully paid

The State minister for Higher Education Dr Chrysostom Muyingo on Thursday last week said Makerere University will only re-open when lecturers assure government that they are going back to teach, even they haven’t been paid their arrears.

He then said: “Government is playing its role. The problem is with lecturers and management. Lecturers are the ones who closed the university when they refused to teach. If they can agree to go back, the university will be opened this afternoon.”

However, while responding to the above statement, the MUASA letter termed it as mockery from government and said they will never step back to lecture rooms until all their arrears have been fully paid. They added that they had given the university management enough time to sort their issue.

DON’T POLITICIZE

In a similar way, the Public Relations Officer of Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Dr Deus Kamunyu Muhwezi, has blasted government for politicizing Makerere issues instead of providing a quick solution for their unpaid salaries as well as the incessant strikes at the institution.

In their yesterday’s Facebook on their page, MUASA leaders said they want government to stop bringing politics into the issue as well as keep political leaders known for their wagging toques out of Makerere closure issues.

This comes just days after FDC’s Dr Kizza Besigye announced a strike if government does not heed to students’ cry of reopening Makerere. He consequently gave President Museveni a 10-day ultimatum to heed to the plea.

Here is the verbatim post by MUASA PRO;

I hope this may not be interpreted as a plan to blackmail us when we are in the first place victims of mismanagement due to lack of proper supervision of our leaders.

We complained about our unpaid incentive arrears and we also explained to government about the circumstances surrounding our welfare.

Hon. Dr Chrysostom Muyingo knows very well that unlike other public universities in Uganda, we are the only university that posts money from private students in order for government to pay our monthly salaries.

It is therefore important for government to listen to our voices instead of concentrating on politicizing our situation.

We are pro a reformed university and we have clearly called on government to do its work. Our welfare concerns are real and its a mockery to trivialize them.

It is not for this development that still the actual re-opening of Makerere University remains uncertain and hard to predict.