Treasury on the spot as varsities delay salaries
Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) officials when they issued a strike notice on August 20, 2021, at the Meridian Hotel. Picture by
What you need to know:
- Four universities have written to their employees informing them of the delay and asked them to remain calm as they discharge their duties.
- They are Egerton, Kisii, Moi and Kenyatta. All 35 public universities are, however, affected.
- Presently, university workers are owed over Sh7.9 billion, including the employer pension component by the public universities.
Public universities are struggling to pay their lecturers and non-teaching staff their last month’s salaries after the National Treasury failed to release capitation on time.
So far, four universities have written to their employees informing them of the delay and asked them to remain calm as they discharge their duties.
They are Egerton, Kisii, Moi and Kenyatta. All 35 public universities are, however, affected.
Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) national organising secretary Onesmus Mutio told Saturday Nation that most universities are not paying lecturers and other staff on time, while some are not remitting statutory deductions.
“It is not our mandate to ensure that the government release money on time. Vice-chancellors should be able to engage the National Treasury.”
In a letter, Moi University acting deputy vice-chancellor (Administration, Planning and Strategy) Ambrose Kiprop told staff to continue performing their duties as they wait for the funds.
“As you are aware, the university relies majorly on capitation from the exchequer to pay salaries. The purpose of this communication is to inform all members of staff that the university has yet to receive capitation from the government,” reads the letter dated September 7.
“The university management, therefore, requests all members of staff to be patient and continue executing their duties until the capitation is channelled for payment of August salaries.”
Kisii University vice-chancellor John Akama urged their staff to continue working, saying they had yet to receive the August capitation to be able to pay salaries.
“We, therefore, request all members of staff to be patient. The university management will immediately release the salaries upon receipt of the capitation,” said Prof Akama.
Delayed payments
Kenyatta University confirmed having received the capitation on Thursday and apologised to the staff for the delayed payment.
“We take this opportunity to thank members of staff for the patience and regret any inconvenience caused by the delay in the release of the salary,” said acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Paul Okemo.
Over the last three years, members of Uasu and other staff unions in different universities have gone on strike over unpaid salaries and non-remittance of statutory deductions.
Presently, university workers are owed over Sh7.9 billion, including the employer pension component by the public universities. The total government deficit to public universities stands at Sh96.3 billion.
Uasu has been demanding full implementation of the 2017-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
It says only seven universities out of 35 are paying their lecturers according to their correct scales.
The seven are South Eastern, Kenyatta, Taita Taveta, Cooperative, Koitalel Samoei, Dedan Kimathi, and Kirinyaga.
Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta and Technical University of Kenya are among those underpaying their academic staff, according to Uasu.
The universities have been implementing the CBA in their own way against a court order and have occasioned huge arrears. Their staff have been demanding that they release the salary arrears.
Meanwhile, a group of dons from various public universities yesterday sent congratulated President-elect William Ruto.
“We are optimistic that Dr Ruto, being an academic giant himself, will urgently and effectively put in mechanisms to rescue public universities languishing in choking debt,” said Dr Nyaberi Mogaka in a speech by the lecturers.
The lecturers also called on Dr Ruto to establish and equip technical and vocational education and training (Tvet) institutes and make them accessible.
The dons also demanded that sacked Kenyatta University vice-chancellor Paul Wainaina be reinstated.
He was fired last month by the university’s council over wrangles surrounding 410 acres owned by the university and transferred to the World Health Organisation.
