The Public Relations Officer of Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa) Dr Deus Kamunyu Mubarak has faulted government for letting incompetent leaders run Makerere university.
In a letter addressed to all stakeholders of the university, Kamunyu cites gross wastage of funds on useless activities, lack of proper accountability as well as failure to adhere to the set rules of the University, hence exposing mass rottenness within the University financial committee.
Here is the full copy of his statement published on the MUASA social media page:
Dear all Stakeholders and Friends of Makerere University,
When Makerere University Academic Association (MUASA) Members resolved to go on a sit down strike beginning 26 October, 2016, they did not decide to do so without a good premise. They actually did so after protracted but largely unproductive negotiations with the university management for close to eight months.
We have now close to a month tried to explain to all our stakeholders (students, parents and friends of Makerere University) the circumstances under which this firm resolution over our unpaid incentive arrears was made. To make it clear again and in the first place, the option of a sit down strike was the last option we had and it was not in anyway intended to punish our students or their parents. Instead, this should be interpreted as a struggle to better our welfare such that we can ably conduct a payback to all of you on whose good will we have the privilege to serve this country and the people of Africa at this level.
We know that you have largely made us who we are as you continue to support us first of all as tax payers and our clients, or as our friends and well wishers. It is our hope that you understand us when we also rightly demand our pay from our leaders and also make a clear call on our leaders to productively manage our university’s monetary and non monetary (human & others) resources properly.
Failure to pay our incentive arrears of close to ten months now is what primarily lead to the sit down strike. Prior to this, there were constant calls on University Management and Council to effectively adhere to the preconditions set by the Kabaasa Committee (Committee of Council) which established the incentive. This committee was also tasked to oversee the sustenance of the incentive and indeed a total of three reports of the committee recommended that the incentive was sustainable subject to management action on all preconditions.
Some of the preconditions included the collapse and consolidation of all the allowances that all staff of the university were earning in work overload and irregularly managed college based top up schemes of all kind. These incentive is basically overload accrued and calculated on the basis of the statutory working university wide (40 hours a week: Minimum 10 hours teaching and other forms of mentoring per week). This decision did not affect part time teaching and staff who were willing to teach beyond statutory hours and money was ring fenced to take care of this load. More decisions were also made to improve revenue collection and stop wastage in areas such as procurement (astronomical pricing), uncollected rental fees, uncollected fees from affiliated institutions, unreported incomes from commercial units, redundant human resources (companies hired to do the same work that staff on payroll are supposed to do and many other areas.
Our representatives on the Kabaasa Committee know very well that it was limited management commitment to total transparency and its failure to implement the necessary reforms/preconditions that lead us to this point in time. The proof of failure of the university leadership in the management of monetary and non monetary resources such as human resources and revenue collection to be specific have been documented in the Auditor General’s reports for many years. Many of these reports have never been considered as alarm loud enough to conduct enduring reforms. To us, such has lead us to this point and we have refused to opt for victim status and hence a cause for this alarm we are making. We also refuse to standby and allow this state of affairs to degrade our productivity and downgrade the learning conditions and the quality of our graduates.
Makerere g g Staff Associalgtttion is composed of best of brains on the continent of Africa and beyond. Most of us have deep desire to serve their country in the best way possible through research, innovation and teaching. We have demonstrated and continue to excel in the harshest of working conditions when compared to organizations that utilize similar skills. In the past, until today, we have unfortunately struggled (should be every managers aim) to improve our monetary aspects of welfare but a lot remains in non monetary aspects such as health care, physical work place conditions (office space, job related infrastructure such teaching aids etc), workload rationalization in light quality expectations and other motivators befitting of a university teaching staff. In addition to abuse of our retirement savings, a member of staff’s send off if he or she unfortunately died in service is at the mercy of the University leadership that is if you are known to them. Ordinarily, at your send off and if lucky, Makerere University contributes only Shs 50,000 towards your coffin.
Over years up to date, Makerere University Academic Staff continue to painfully move forward without a proactive university leadership that is keen on welfare needs of its teaching staff. Managers of the university in the past and current have attempted to mislead the public in vain that they actually prioritize our welfare. We wish to inform you that amidst all difficulties, it is instead us the academic staff that have always been forced to resort to sit down strikes in all our welfare struggles since the 90s. We have never been a serious priority and yet a lot rests on us to run, protect and deliver on the core functions the university. Instead Managers have continued to embrace a system where a few benefit at the expense of many who labour to sustain the flow of monetary resources.
As a result, many of our staff have resigned to fate with majority well meaning brainy sons and daughters of this blessed nation reduced to survivors & knowledge vendors as opposed to knowledge generators and stewards of the nation’s knowledge banks. All this aside, the big question that we should all struggle to answer as responsible citizens is; who is at loss in all this? Is it the over 900 PhD and 800 Masters degree holders who already posses critical skills that can be absorbed anywhere on the globe? Is it the student who in the hope of accessing the best brains in Africa is instead subjected to run ins and outs because of unproductive perennial strikes? or Is it a parent who pays his or her hard earned monies in the hope of securing his/her future only to be frustrated due to unending squabbles at Makerere University? or Is it a well meaning tax payer who in the hope of getting returns from their investment/value for money, he/she is rewarded with weak supplies to the labour market, unsolved society problems and total absence of innovation? Let us think together.
On the other hand, is there anyone to blame for this? and where do we go from here? We know that the problems of Makerere University have accumulated over years due to bad management decisions and lack of astute leadership at Council and Management as the key custodians of the university. These two sets of leaders represent the interests of government in the management of the institution‘s affairs. They receive, prioritize, apportion, use and account for all resources received from government and on behalf of government (AIA policy). They are the one’s mandated to rationalize all the resources (human & monetary) and harness them in pursuance of the university’s success and in line with the nations development objectives. The two are also in better position to inform the government as and when there are shortfalls and gains. Picking on audit reports by the Auditor General over years, there are indications of absence of proper leadership in the first place. There are also indications that there is inadequate supervision of management by the University Council.
It is important to recall once again that the two (Council & Management) are mandated by law to run the affairs of the University on behalf of government. This means that government would be faulted at that level as the Chief Agent and proprietor on behalf of the people of Uganda .
We have made our case in the best way we can and now the burden in the circumstances rests squarely on the set Visitation Committee. It is our hope that the Visitation Committee constituted by the H.E. the President of Uganda will get to the bottom of the matter with the goal of ending the problems of Africa’s beloved university once and for all. MUASA will be available to articulate its side when called upon by the committee.
Finally, members of MUASA United behind this largely fair struggle to better their welfare and improve university leadership state that their genuine complaints and demands should not be politicized by any group or persons with intentions different from the primary causes of the sit down strike. We had hoped to resolve this standoff amicably but our attempts to find solutions were not treated with deserved timely consideration and action.
We build for the future.
Dr. Deus Kamunyu Mubarak
Public Relations Officer (PRO), MUASA.
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