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Education agencies staff to miss salaries
Measures. Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Alex Kakooza. According to the ministry, staff in the examination agencies have not been paid. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI.
What you need to know:
- It is not clear how many people working in the examination centres have been affected.
- Mr Jim Mugunga, the Ministry of Finance spokesperson, on Monday said the release of money they made was based on what is available. He insists that those who have not been paid have not been recruited formally.
Staff of agencies under Ministry of Education have missed their April pay and are likely to miss in the subsequent two months before the financial year closes in June.
This is because government released less money than what was expected for this final quarter.
Mr Alex Kakooza, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told Daily Monitor on Monday that although they were able to pay salaries for staff at the centre, those recruited in their agencies, especially the examination bodies like Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB), Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examinations Board (UNMEB), and Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB), are yet to receive their pay.
Without disclosing how much Ministry of Finance released, Mr Kakooza said their allocation releases were more than Shs20b less which takes care of salaries in these bodies.
“A supplementary release has been made and even additional cash limits have been provided. But still they fall short of the amount of money they require to meet their mandatory expenses,” Mr Kakooza responded to this newspaper’s questions on why some of their staff had not been paid.
He added: “We had a cut under development budget. We got zero release under development. We did not get slightly above Shs20billion for the agencies. I think that is why you heard they are missing salaries. We are engaging Ministry of Finance. I am not sure whether Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) is part of it.”
It is not clear how many people working in the examination centres have been affected.
Mr Jim Mugunga, the Ministry of Finance spokesperson, on Monday said the release of money they made was based on what is available. He insists that those who have not been paid have not been recruited formally.
“Finance religiously ensures that salaries are paid first even when the resource envelope is overstretched. Salaries are never cut. They are an entitlement unless there are people they never recruited formally.”
Covid-19
Issue. Sources close to ministries of Finance and Education told Daily Monitor that because of the outbreak of coronavirus that saw government putting a lockdown operations, has seen less revenue into the government coffers, which is now affecting their operations. The government currently has reported 89 coronavirus cases.
