“Nobody understands their issue. Maybe they are playing tribal politics because if you are accusing somebody, you should have concrete proof to say this man has stolen this money, this man has done and mismanaged this and therefore he can go. So accusing somebody and yelling on top of your voice doesn’t make what you are saying right. They have not provided evidence,” Prof. Obua said.
About 540 teaching and non-teaching staff of
Mbarara University of Science and Technology–MUST unanimously resolved in their
Joint General Assembly to lay down their tools on May 2nd, 2019
citing maladministration. They agreed to maintain emergency services in the
Faculty of Medicine and Security department.
They wrote a petition to the MUST Council Chairperson,
Dr. Ben Mbonye accusing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Celestine Obua of
mismanagement. They complained of deterioration in the quality of
teaching, learning and community engagement as a result of the management
decision to prioritise non-academic and administrative functions, which they
claim consume the largest percentage of university resources.
The staff also noted that there has
been unprecedented poor working relationship between the Vice Chancellor and
junior staff. Dr. John Emenyu, the Chairperson Academic Staff Association
–MUSTASA, says the Vice Chancellor only yields to pressure.
Mismanagement of University Finances
Among other issues the striking workers accuse
the Prof. Obua-led-administration of mismanaging university resources and
setting up bank accounts without authorization by the university council.
They claim that illegal bank accounts have been
created for Mbarara University Research Training Initiative (MURTI), Mbarara
University Research Ethics Education Program (MUREEP) and Mbarara University
Health Professional Education Partnership Initiative (HEPI) project funds.
“The Vice Chancellor solicited and irregularly
procured M/S BDO Audit firm as external auditors to re-audit project funds,
which had already been carried out by PWC. We believe this action needs
clearance and recommendation from the office of the Auditor General,” the staff
note.
The Vice Chancellor is also accused of ordering
the change of signatories to project fund accounts paving way for
non-university staff to sign on university monies. In his August 28, 2018 letter to the University
Secretary, Melchoir Byaruhanga, Prof. Obua proposed the appointment of Edith
Wakida as a signatory to the Research Training Initiative project account.
The staff however say, Wakida is a non-staff
member and doesn’t qualify to be signatory on the university account, adding
that the university has continued to manage funds under structures that weren’t
approved by the council.
According to the staff petition, Prof. Obua has
been drawing his monthly salary both on the Government Payroll and off-payroll,
which they say is a deliberate scheme to avoid taxes.
They say this is likely to expose the
institution to financial loss since all employees are supposed to receive
consolidated pay. In addition, they contend that the vice chancellor has
continued to receive an irregular pay.
“Prof. Obua received UShs. 9,778, 986 as part
of Salary Enhancement Arrears for non-teaching staff in February 2019 despite
the fact that his salary was already enhanced to the Top Bar of UShs.
15,000,000 since July 2016 as approved by the Ministry of Public Service,”
reads the petition.
At its 61st meeting under minute 9.2.11/61/2016,
the MUST university council agreed to top up the Vice Chancellor’s salary to Shillings
15 per month effective from 1st July 2016. The increment was communicated by
the University Secretary in his July 26, 2016 letter to his deputy to effect
the directive.
Suffocation of Grants Office
According to documents seen by this reporter, the
staff accuse Prof. Obua of irregular transfer and management of project funds
from the Grants Office to the Office of Research Administration.
In his August 28, 2018 letter, Prof. Obua
directed the transfer of the funds for Research Training Initiative – MURTI
following an audit that found the unit was under high risk due to continued poor
financial management, incorrect entries amenable to manipulation and poorly
maintained books.
“This will be reflected in the audit report which
definitely will not give confidence to the funders regarding how financial
management is handled at MUST. They (auditors) have strongly recommended that
we must purchase QuickBooks accounting software to handle our accounts as a
matter of urgency,” Prof. Obua argued.
Staff say it was irregular to transfer project
funds to another project due to weak controls instead of strengthening the
projects office to sort out the arising issues. On March 25, 2019, Julius Atugonza, a finance
Manager in the grants office offered to resign from university service but
staff want the circumstances leading to his decision probed.
“I thought I would be given an exit interview to
share my unfair experience and conditions that compelled me to place in an
immediate resignation and how best to run MUST Grants Office for the benefit of
whoever comes in,” Atugonza said in his March 28, 2019 letter.
VC's Absence from Duty
The staff are also up in arms against the vice
chancellor, saying he is often away from the university.
“We also request the council to look closely
and audit his (Vice Chancellor’s) purported foreign travels in his alleged
spirit of public relations of the university. These huge foreign travel
allowances have escalated administrative costs relegating funding for teaching
materials and equipment,” the staff argued. He is also accused of not heeding to council
directives, flouting the university transport policy, influence peddling and
breaking procurement and disposal guidelines.
“Prof. Obua has written altering his original
terms of employment with interests of influencing his reappointment without
following procedure,” the staff claim. URN is in possession of a copy of a December
18, 2018 letter to Dr. Mbonye, in which Prof. Obua expressed interest in
serving a second term as Vice Chancellor.
In the letter, Prof. Obua acknowledged that
while his five-year term of office was coming to a close on October 24th 2019,
he was entitled to re-appointment without a search process in case council
members were pleased with his successful performance.
“We have found out that the position of VC (Vice
Chancellor) in other public institutions were only advertised when a search
process for anew VC was necessary. This is therefore to express my willingness
to serve as the VC of MUST for one more term upon expiry of the current term. I
humbly request you to assess my performance over the past years while I served
as the VC,” Prof. Obua said.
In his response, Dr. Mbonye disclosed that after
seeking a legal opinion from the Solicitor General on how to proceed with the
reappointment of a sitting Vice Chancellor, the MUST council was allowed to assess
his performance and reappoint him.
“Following the Solicitor General’s guidance
therefore, I am compelled to communicate to you this position and to inform you
that it is now not necessary for a search committee to proceed until council
advises otherwise,” Dr. Mbonye said in his January 11 letter.
Flouting Procurement Procedures Staff have equally complained against the
numerous court cases arising out of flouting procurement guidelines and
ignoring advice from technical units.
They point to the recently concluded procurement
process from the on-going construction of a student’s hostel and the faculty of
computing and informatics block that were delayed by administrative reviews
involving M/S Khalsa Development Ltd, M/S Steam Investments Ltd and M/s
Yanjian.
“We strongly believe that the offices of the
Vice Chancellor, University Secretary and Legal officer should have been
investigated to the final conclusion to clearly understand the roles they all
played in the entire process,” the petition states.
Adding that; “We were disappointed to learn that
the University Council opted to accept an apology from them instead of carrying
out a thorough investigation and have final conclusion on who was responsible
for the delays. This time, the university lost time in terms of project
implementation however we could have even lost the money going back to the
treasury because it was not spent.”
Council Appeals to Staff
At an emergency meeting between the Chancellor
Professor, Charles Mark Lwanga Olweny, the MUST University Council Chairperson Dr.
Ben Mbonye and staff representatives at Roots restaurant along Akibua road in
Kampala, staff were asked to call off the strike as the council makes
consultations on how the accused persons step aside.
Staff representatives however say this is also
wrong. They cite the MUST Human Resource Manual, which allows forced leave in
case there are allegations against staff, saying the decisions arrived of staff
members cannot simply be trashed by the council chairperson.
“We are going to convene a meeting with the
executive tomorrow (Tuesday) to see what to do. But basically members made
resolutions to go on strike, sent us to negotiate their demands with council
but we have so far got nothing tangible to present to people. To call them for
an assembly will be just too bad for them,” Julius Taremwa, the Academic Staff
Association General Secretary said.
Prof. Obua speaks out
In a phone interview with URN, Prof. Obua said
the allegations levied against him by staff are devoid of truth and riddled
with tribalism and malice.
He told URN that he has never lobbied to become
a Vice Chancellor of Mbarara University and as such will not lobby for
re-appointment.
//Cue in: “I have never …
Cue out: …accusations they are levying.”//
“Nobody understands their issue. Maybe they are
playing tribal politics because if you are accusing somebody, you should
have concrete proof to say this man has stolen this money, this man has done
and mismanaged this and therefore he can go. So accusing somebody and yelling
on top of your voice doesn’t make what you are saying right. They have not provided
evidence,” Prof. Obua said.
He said when the staff presented their petition
to Council; it was made clear to them their accusations would be investigated
through an audit, which he says is underway.
According to Prof. Obua, staff are trying to
blackmail the university council to force him out.
Davidson Ndyabahika
Freelancer