The Sunday News
Dumisani Sibanda
LECTURERS at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo have rejected a proposal to cut their salaries for servicing part-time and parallel programmes as a cost cutting measure alleging misplaced priorities as top managers and other senior staff have a facility of about $1 million to splurge on the purchase of cars, it has been learnt.
The lecturers are worried that the money is being spent on travel or mileage and telephone allowances among others for principal officers, their deputies and for executive deans at the expense of crucial areas for the learning institution.
“It is irregular for the mileage allowances of management officials to reach an exorbitant annual total of $411 840 when the annual budgeted amount for research for the whole institution is only $200 000,” reads part of a dossier prepared by the lecturers, detailing their complaints which was seen by Sunday News.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Professor Jonathan Moyo is on record saying universities should take research as one of their priorities.
“It is therefore these contractual obligations (for the seniors) where cost cutting should be heavily effected instead of focusing on part-time wages of lecturers which have been reduced over the years,” reads part of the document which was compiled following a meeting of the lecturers held three weeks ago under the banner of the Nust Educators Association.
“To add to this, lecturers have over the years forfeited the contractual rights such as sabbatical and contact leave due to the poor financial position of the university but university managers seem not ready to forfeit their contractual obligations too. At the present moment lecturers are aware of the fact that new cars to the tune of $900 000 that is being borrowed by a struggling institution are being bought for principal officers, their deputies, and for executive deans as well. This is happening amid calls for cost cutting, calls in which the already low part-time wages for lecturers are being targeted for further reduction.”
It is also alleged money is being siphoned from the institution through fraudulent means.
“At the Department of Works there is a lot of revenue wastage as well,” said the lecturers “Cases of inflated vehicle parts quotations and purchases are evident. An example is that an original starter motor for a Mitsubishi L200 truck costs $141 but we know of quotes containing amounts of up to $500 for one such starter motor.”
The lecturers are irked by the Nust managers’ “timely and reliable payment of their contractual allowances” each month when chairpersons of departments that “generate revenue for the institution” are reportedly not paid their allowances.
They also query why personal assistants of top management officials and senior assistant registrars receive transport and telephone allowances that attachment coordinators do not get yet these “have an immense task of liaising with industry.”
“Even chairpersons of departments do not have telephone allowances,” according to the document. “It is not clear why personal assistants of principal officers are given telephone allowances yet they have access to landlines that access even cellphone numbers. It is not clear why these personal assistants get transport allowances yet they can book Nust vehicles if they want to carry out Nust duties. Lecturers, library personnel, personnel from the Bursar’s department and members of the security department, among others work till late and they hop onto the university provided evening shuttle, yet personal assistants claim mileage allowances even though they go on to book Nust vehicles to be delivered on nights they would have worked late. Why do glorified secretaries get such benefits?”
The lecturers said the proposed move to reduce their salaries if implemented could result in a situation where there would be no lecturers prepared to teach part-time and parallel programmes. In terms of the Nust conditions on part time wages, lecturers are paid against the income generated by their programmes. The lecturers maintain the university is plagued by a prioritisation problem.
“Expenses by cost centres that gobble a lot of revenue without commensurately contributing to income generation are placed above expenses of profit centres, which need to shoulder some reasonable expenses in order for them to make money for the institution,” reads the document.
Contacted for comment, Nust director of marketing and communication Mr Felix Moyo confirmed that there was a proposal for the reduction of allowances, adding it was still being discussed.
“Everybody is aware of the need to reduce expenditure,” he said in an interview on Friday. “We decided that allowances should be reduced by 25 percent and this includes contractual allowances. Senior managers have accepted the 25 percent cut in allowances and we are still discussing the proposal with our lecturers,” he said.
Mr Moyo said he was “disputing” the figure of $200 000 given by lecturers as having been set aside for research.
“The figure set aside for research is $250 000,” he said. “I am also disputing the figure of $411 000 for mileage but in any case we have discontinued the mileage allowance.”
Mr Moyo confirmed that Nust got a $900 000 loan facility for the purchase of cars for some senior staff engaged on contract and were entitled to cars as part of their conditions of service. He said they have already used about $500 000 of the facility which was started in March and he did not anticipate further expenditure on that.
“The interest rate is on the softer levels of interests at going rates and the money will be paid over four years which really means about $125 000 per year,” said Mr Moyo.
He said the move will actually result in savings as those who were using their cars when they should have been given vehicles by the university were previously being paid mileage using Automobile Association rates, which was expensive. Mr Moyo declined to reveal the number of cars that have been bought and their models.
On allegations of prices of goods being inflated in the Department of Physical Planning, Works and Estates, he said he was not aware of such malpractice.
“I have not gotten close to the operations of the Department of Physical Planning, Works and Estates,” said the Nust spokesperson. He also confessed ignorance on the reports of allowances being given to secretaries.
“As for secretaries, I am not aware of the allowances they are said to get but my chief secretary here does not get those,” said Mr Moyo.
