UB is not delinked from the gov’t – UBASSU
The University of Botswana Academic and Support Staff Union (UBASSU) has hit back at Vice Chancellor David Norris’ recent remarks in which he allegedly said the University of Botswana (UB) is de-linked from the government.
Recently Norris did an interview with one of the local media houses in which he said that the university does not have money, as it is delinked from the government. “We have a joint management committee where management and the union leadership sat, we made it very clear, they know very well that the university does not have money because we are de-linked from the government,” Norris was quoted in the media.
However, the UBASSU secretary-general Dr Keoneeng Magocha hit back at the interview done by the VC and felt it is controversial.
Magocha said it would be remiss of the UB staff and unions to allow the VC’s interview to go unchallenged as he was not telling the truth. “The VC’s utterances were distasteful, obnoxious, arrogant and devoid of emotional intelligence, circumspection and diplomacy consistent with corporate governance credentials that the high office the VC holds, demands and commands,” Magocha added.
He dismissed the statement made by the VC as untrue as the University is not de-linked from the government. He said they believe that UB is linked to the government no matter what the VC says. “The University of Botswana was established through an Act of Parliament in 1982 and it is therefore a parastatal organisation in the league of BPC, Water Utilities, BDC, CEDA, BIUST, BOU, BUAN amongst others. Like all other parastatals, UB staff remuneration is governed by the Revised National Policy on incomes, employment prices and profits of 2005,” he said.
Magocha further said UB falls into the category of non-profit-making parastatals and therefore its CEO, in this case the VC, is pegged to/against the PSP. “The same pegging was done for UB Full Professors. The UB Council as the main employer for all UB staff was to determine from time to time staff salaries bearing in mind internal relativities, which would be based on the salaries of both the VC and UB Full Professors. This did not pre-suppose a dual salary system at UB. As a result, UB receives its entire subvention from government. Like all government departments, if UB has not spent part of its subvention, the funds are returned to government at the end of each financial year,” Magocha highlighted.
He also said they would like to remind and advise the VC that the office he occupies calls for circumspection, sensitivity and respect for his subordinates.
“For what remains of his tenure, he should exude leadership decorum and desist from rushing to the media to make utterances without effectively engaging the UB staff. UB workers of various ages, tenure and rank wouldn’t engage in an industrial action without considered motivation and sustained agitation,” said Magocha.