Kenya Universities Staff Union Secretary General Dr Charles Mukhwaya
(right) talks to press when issuing strike threats on January 12 2014 in
Nairobi over scandalous deals involving huge money in the universities’
administration. On the left is UASU secretary general Muga K’olale
Photo/DENISH OCHIENG
MPs have stepped in to solve the dispute between lecturers and vice-chancellors of public universities and avert a strike.
The
parliamentary committee on Education has summoned officials of the
dons’ unions and the university administrators to shed light on the
dispute.
University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and
Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu) officials will appear before the
committee on Thursday.
The committee has also asked chief finance officers of public universities to appear before it tomorrow.
Kusu
secretary-general Charles Mukhwaya on Monday said the union was ready
to issue a seven-day strike notice when an ultimatum they issued expired
on Saturday.
“We have not received any response from
the vice-chancellors apart from what they released to the press. We
have always been ready to talk. That is why we will be appearing before
the committee on Thursday,” said the Secretary-General.
STRIKE WILL HAPPEN
Dr Mukhwaya warned that they would still go on strike if an agreeable solution was not found before the end of the week.
Education
Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang had been in touch with the union but
was yet to give a solution, according to the official.
“The
Principal Secretary told us he received a report from the universities a
bit late. He asked us to give him time to go through it and respond,”
he said.
At the centre of the dispute is a collective
bargaining agreement signed between the lectures and the universities in
2012 that entitled the dons to Sh7.8 billion for salary increment and
enhancement of house allowances.
Two weeks ago,
however, the lecturers raised the red flag over alleged diversion of
Sh3.8 billion, saying the vice-chancellors failed to stick to the CBA.
They
gave the government two weeks from December 31, last year, to respond
to a report detailing diversion of the billions of shillings to other
purposes.
They did not get a response and re-issued the strike threat last week.
They
said the funds were exclusively meant for raising their salaries and
house allowances. However, only Sh3.9 billion was used for the right
purpose and the rest used for non-related votes, they claimed.
Kenyatta
University was accused of using Sh60 million, Moi University Sh13.6
million, Egerton Sh11 million, University of Nairobi Sh12.7 million and
Masinde Muliro Sh125.6 million for purposes outside the agreement.
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES DENIED CLAIMS
The public universities denied the claims.
In
a statement sent to newsrooms last week, the Association of
Universities of Kenya argued that the money was used for the intended
purpose.
However, it admitted there had been variations between what they requested for and what the government gave.
“Due
to the approximations that may have been made while the universities
were submitting the payroll data to get their disbursement from the
ministry, some universities were left with surpluses, and in few cases,
deficits from the funds they received,” the universities said.
The
statement signed by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology Vice-Chancellor Mabel Imbuga (chairman) and Maseno
University’s Dominic Makawiti (vice-chairman) said the institutions had
returned any excess money they received or applied to be refunded any
extra costs they incurred in implementing the 2010-2013 agreement.
“The
Vice Chancellors of the Public Universities and Principals of
Constituent Colleges therefore, wish to confirm that the funds received
for the implementation of the 2010-2013 CBA were used for their intended
purpose.”
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