Swazi Observer

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MINISTER LASHES OUT AT REGISTRAR

By BONGIWE DLAMINI | 2024-11-21

IN a dramatic twist of events, government retracted a statement by UNESWA Acting Registrar Richard Masuku, attributing the university’s financial challenges to delays in disbursement of monies owed to it.

In an interview on Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services’ (EBIS) Letishisako programme yesterday morning, Masuku candidly stated that the university had not paid its employees November salaries which were due on Tuesday, as well as pay for utilities such as water and electricity.

Masuku said this is because there was no money in the institution’s coffers.
He said this was a result of delayed disbursement of funds by government.

These funds included tuition fees for government-sponsored students for the current semester that commenced in August, and government’s subvention that is paid to the university on a monthly basis.

As a result of non-payment of salaries, employees of the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) had not reported for duty yesterday.

However, the Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo called journalists to an urgent press briefing yesterday afternoon, where he vehemently denied that government had not paid the university all monies due to it.

Nxumalo said as at Tuesday, November 19, government disbursed some funds to the university and more was paid yesterday.

However, he declined to state the total amount that government had paid to the institution, citing that such information was not meant to be shared publicly.

“The ministry wishes to clarify statements made earlier today (yesterday) by an executive member of UNESWA to the effect that the inability of the institution to defray its financial obligations including salaries, utilities, pension emoluments, and medical aid payments, is the result of non-payment of subventions and tuition fees owed to the university by government,” he said.

Nxumalo added that the paid monies included students’ allowances.
Regarding government’s subvention, the minister explained that the accepted procedure for payment of all subventions to the university is the quarterly submission to the treasury department of invoiced claims by this ministry on behalf of UNESWA.

He said the treasury department then splits this amount into three equal payments remitted monthly to the university.

subvention
“As it stands, and given the dire financial position of the university, a part of the December subvention has already been paid,” stated Nxumalo.

Regarding the UNESWA’s debts with service providers such Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC), Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) and SwaziMed, the minister noted that the ministry of finance had facilitated the signing of contracts with all three concerning the clearance of outstanding liabilities owed by the institution.

He said letters of comfort to ensure that they continue providing their services were provided to the three entities as they are critical to the functioning of the university.

“The recurring struggle of UNESWA to manage its budget and finances has been noted by the ministry. In this regard, UNESWA has also been requested to submit cash flow forecasts to assure the ministry that they will be able to sustain themselves until the end of the financial year,” stated Nxumalo.

He added that the cash flow forecasts had been analysed and UNESWA was requested to revise them and take into urgent consideration the comments of the ministry to ensure that operations to the end of the financial year are not interrupted by a shortage of funds.

The minister emphasised that Cabinet and the head of state are not pleased with the issues that had resulted in the university closing.

He pleaded for patience from all stakeholders and said the appointed task team that was set up to look into UNESWA affairs would present its preliminary report mid-December.

“The findings of the task team’s investigation will inform us on the next step to take in addressing the university’s issues. We will also implement the task team’s recommendations because we all want to restore UNESWA’s glory,” said Nxumalo.

UNESWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Justice Thwala confirmed that government had paid all monies due to the institution, and to prove this, employees had received their full November salaries by the time of the press conference.

Thwala also thanked government for its continued support, and further said the university banked its hope for solutions on the findings of the appointed task team.

No more delays in future – minister

MINISTER of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo said there was a dire need to avoid interruptions of operations of UNESWA in future.

He said to achieve this, UNESWA must ensure that all paperwork required before processing any payment needed to be submitted to the university way before lessons commenced for each semester.

Nxumalo said this after UNESWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Justice Thwala attributed government’s delay in disbursing funds to that invoices were submitted to government late. According to Thwala, some of the current first-year students enrolled at the university in April. These were self-sponsored.

Meanwhile, those whose fees are paid for by government started their semester in August. The vice-chancellor said some of the first-year self-sponsored students were later awarded scholarships by government.

This, according to Thwala, resulted in the university submitting some invoices later than the rest, which in turn delayed the disbursement of funds by the treasury.

The minister then said means to get all the paperwork submitted before the commencement of each semester needed to be explored so that when students start learning, there could be no disturbances emanating from delays in paying allowances and all other monies.

Nxumalo noted that for years now, it had been a trend that the university’s operations were interrupted mid-way as a result of protests, amongst other issues.

Further, the minister appealed to all stakeholders, including students, to engage the ministry when there were issues so that they could be addressed without having to close the university. Nxumalo also pledged the ministry’s support to UNESWA and its stakeholders.

We stand by acting registrar’s statement – ALAAP

THE ALAAP says it stands by the statement made by UNESWA acting Registrar Richard Masuku on the Letishisako programme at EBIS yesterday.

ALAAP General Secretary Dr Mduduzi Shongwe said what Masuku said during the radio interview was what the university had been telling the employees all along. Although Shongwe confirmed that employees had received their full November salary, which he appreciated, SwaziMed had not been paid by 4pm yesterday.

“We do not know anything about received monies because as far as we know, SwaziMed is still not paid,” stated Shongwe. On another note, the secretary said since they had been paid, employees would report for duty today.

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