Nairobi News

HashtagHustleNews

Broke UoN stuck with Sh1.6bn deductions bill

By OUMA WANZALA February 4th, 2019 1 min read

University of Nairobi is groaning under huge debts, among them Sh1.6 billion in unremitted pension and statutory deductions for its workers, Vice-Chancellor Peter Mbithi has said.

The vice-chancellor said the university was unable to settle pension debt occasioned by 2013-17 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and statutory obligations as at June 30, 2018.

Prof Mbithi said the obligations relate to pension liability from salary increments occasioned by the CBA 2010-13 and 2013-17 awards, adding that the the Treasury had not released the funds to settle these issues.

Speaking during the first state of university address, Prof Mbithi also said sudden and unplanned budget cuts due to the new formula of costing degree programmes and differentiated units costs had left the institution with Sh1.7 billion hole.

“This has immensely affected delivery of services,” he said.

HUGE WAGE BILL

Prof Mbithi the huge wage bill due to clamour for higher pay by trade unions had worsened the situation.

“Ultimately, this exerts a major strain in our dwindling cash flows. The university continued to experience disruptions due to frequent industrial actions, leading to the disruption of the various academic programmes,” he said.

The VC asked those tasked with responsibilities at the institution to provide focused leadership in implementing the university’s strategy.

“We should stop mourning forever. We should heal and move on,” said Prof Mbithi.

He said the university plans to establish the Museum of East African Art.

“The goal is to build a world class museum of great artistic and educational value. The mission of the museum will be to collect, preserve and display the wealth and genius of East African art for the citizens of East Africa,” said Prof Mbithi.