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UNESWA CASH-STRAPPED, SALARIES TO BE DELAYED

By KWANELE DHLADHLA | 2022-10-20

Due to financial challenges, staff salaries at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) will not be deposited today as per norm.

This was confirmed by Registrar Dr. Salebona Simelane yesterday. He said the institution would not issue salaries dues financial constraints which continued to haunt the university for a number of reasons.

When asked when the probable date for paying the salaries would be, Simelane said he could not provide a precise answer because they were also not certain when they would secure the required finances.

“As soon as we secure the finances, we will pay immediately,” briefly said Simelane, who did not provide answers as to what measures had been put in place to expediently secure the finances to pay staff.

Fees
It has previously been disclosed that due to the unpaid tuition fees from the ministry of labour and social security worth over E50 million for the 2021/2022 financial year, the university could barely function.

UNESWA disclosed that failure to receive in full the subvention of two months of April and May 2021 made the situation to be worse. The subvention in question was E34 million.

As a result of the unavailable funds, UNESWA continuously failed to pay utilities on time, it failed to remit statutory Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and could not pay staff’s monthly stop orders as well.

The university also reportedly previously failed to pay monthly medical aid contributions and provide adequate security (mending fences and CCTV).
UNESWA infrastructure continues to be in a deplorable state and needs urgent attention. It was pointed out that there was an urgent need for additional lecture rooms, hostels, offices and other amenities.

“Staff houses are no longer suitable for human habitation,” Parliament was informed.
Students have reportedly petitioned the university to urgently attend to the deteriorating conditions in the hostels.

“There is also a shortage of working tools including computers, projectors and stationery among others,” it was mentioned.
As a solution to the challenges facing the institution, the university wrote a white paper on austerity measures to try and solve the challenges.

The measures include cost containment initiatives, as well as fundraising initiatives to try and bring the university to a stable financial position.

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