UNESWA staff demand answers on prince’s salary
MANZINI- Employees of the University of Eswatini want answers on why Chairman of the Council Prince David is included in the university payroll.
This was contained in a petition that was delivered by the Association of Lecturers, Academic and Administrative Personnel (ALAAP) General Secretary Dr Mduduzi Shongwe to the UNESWA Council. It was delivered to council at the UNESWA Kwaluseni Campus yesterday.
According to ALAAP, they needed responses to why the chairman of Council was included in the university payroll, and why certain executive members earned more than the requirement of the governing legislation and circulars of the Public Enterprises.
They further queried why certain executives’ utility allowances were above the range set by the governing legislation and Circulars of the Public Enterprises.
The employees of the university also inquired on what measures was the Council taking to correct the aforementioned irregularities. “We expect a response to the above demands within seven working days, failing which, ALAAP members would be forced to take further action,” they demanded.
Meanwhile, the employees’ questions were subsequent to a statement highlighting that they had noted the negative media reports on the UNESWA Chairman of Council drawing an ‘illegal’ monthly salary of about E100 000. This, according to the workers, was an amount which was more than E1 million per year. They added that the excessive salaries of certain UNESWA executives, much against the governing legislation and Circulars of the Public Enterprises.
The lecturers stated that these irregularities were unearthed by the Auditor General in his Compliance Audit Report for the year ended March 31, 2021. “ALAAP members are of the view that this is a financial drain to the university, yet these funds could be used for other core business of the university such as purchasing teaching material,” the employees decried.
Further, they stated that as it were, the university was facing a liquidity problem and an imminent risk of insolvency, evidenced by its failure or perpetual delays in remitting statutory deductions such as; pay as you earn (PAYE), pension, medical aid premiums, savings cooperative remittances, money lenders deductions, staff association and union subscriptions. They further revealed that the university was failing to pay its suppliers and vendors, including security and cleaning services providers, as well as payment of staff salaries.
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The employees elaborated that staff also lacked working tools such as laptops and projectors, and were often forced to utilise their personal vehicles when supervising students in industries, schools or clinical practice sites. “The university also no longer funds staff research and conference attendance as the phrase ‘lack of funds’ has become the a anthem of this university,” they decried.
For this reason, the staff members were of the view that the issues of the ‘illegal’ salary and overpayment of certain UNESWA executive members were threatening the survival of the university and tarnished its image. They mentioned that ALAAP also noted that council had not responded to this widely reported issue, hence at a special general meeting held on May 31, 2022, their members resolved to petition Council to demand responses.