Teachers to receive Sh40bn in arrears

Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa.PHOTO|FILE 

By Bernard Lugongo ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

“On this day, we expect that the government would have finished the verification of the non-salary debts,”

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Teachers’ Union (TTU) says it has agreed with the government on teachers’ salary-related accumulated debts amounting to Sh40 billion.

Under the agreement, the TTU says, the debt would be paid by the end of next month.

The deal was struck on Tuesday. It also laid the foundation for the settlement of other accumulated debts amounting to Sh21 billion.

TTU secretary general, Mr Ezekiel Oluoch, told The Citizen in a telephone interview that the payment of other arrears would be done after officials of the ministry of Finance have verified the debt and the number of teachers to be paid.

“The verification exercise is done in order to avoid paying the money to ghost teachers, but we have agreed that on February 4, the government should tell us when it will pay the non-salary debts,” Mr Olouch said.

“On this day, we expect that the government would have finished the verification of the non-salary debts,” he said.

He said that the new developments on the payment of teachers came after a series of follow-ups by his Union with the government.

Mr Oluoch said the two side had initially met to discuss the matter in December last year.

During the meeting, among other things, the TTU delegation and government officials dwelt on the issue of new employment opportunities for teachers for the current year, where the government promised to announce names of those recruited next month.

During the last Parliament meeting, the minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, said teachers’ arrears would be settled this fiscal year if the ongoing process of evaluation of the debts is completed.

He told the House that evaluation of the arrears was being made jointly by his ministry and TTU