How Sh3.9b for employees of universities was diverted

Demo over pay increment: Musalia Edebe (left), Chairman, University Academic Staff Union for Moi University chapter, lecturers and other those from the Kenya Universities Staff Union demonstrate in Eldoret town during day-three of their strike demanding pay increment on March 14, 2014. Photo/JARED NYATAYA

What you need to know:

  • Unlike previous strikes where the lecturers and non-teaching staff boycott work to pressure the government into raising their salaries, this time round they are demanding the Sh3.8 billion allegedly misappropriated by the vice chancellors.

The stand-off between public universities’ staff and their bosses over Sh3.8 billion enters its first week Monday in a unique strike that could plunge academic programmes into chaos.

Unlike previous strikes where the lecturers and non-teaching staff boycott work to pressure the government into raising their salaries, this time round they are demanding the Sh3.8 billion allegedly misappropriated by the vice chancellors.

According to the striking staff, the government released Sh7.8 billion to pay the staff in line with the 2010-2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the vice chancellors only released half of the amount.

The rest, they say, went into unintended purposes including plugging budget shortfalls, setting-up university colleges, paying part-time staff and pension.

On Thursday, Education Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi who was deputy VC at the University of Nairobi at the time, is among top officials accused of having received more than they deserved, admitted to the flaws in expenditure of the money.

According to documents prepared by finance officials of the universities and obtained by the Sunday Nation, vice chancellors and their deputies pocketed Sh500 million. And the lectures and non-teaching staff say they did not deserve to get a share of the money because they were not unionisable staff.

All the 31 public universities and colleges have, however, declared in a special report sent to the Education ministry that they were holding back a surplus of Sh535 million after paying the salaries.

But Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) national chairman Sammy Kubasu criticised the document prepared by VCs, because it did not reflect the Sh3.9 billion that is in contention.

Although the VCs’ report confirms the union’s claims that the money was spent on unintended purposes, it does not declare the expenditures as a misallocation. In some cases, the report shows, the money was used to pay part-time staff and those who were not on the payroll by the time the 2010-2013 CBA was reached.

Ideally, the money should have all gone to meet basic salaries and house allowances of eligible staff between job group 1 to 15.

Staff of the universities say it was wrong for the senior managers to be paid.

The universities declared the rest of the money - Sh535 million - as “balances”, which they either turned into capitation funds contrary to the agreement or were holding on to as they await direction from the ministry.

Although the report says staff were paid according to the agreement, Uasu said members were paid much less than expected.

“The universities came up with different pay schedules than what had been initially agreed on,” Prof Kubasu said.

At the beginning of the stand-off, VCs and principals of colleges insisted the Sh7.8 billion was spent for the intended purposes.

But in a statement signed by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology VC Mabel Imbuga, the administrators attributed the surplus funds to approximations that may have been made at the time of submitting staff payrolls to the ministry.

In its report, the University of Nairobi reported a surplus of Sh12 million, money that Uasu claim had gone to 13 members of the top management.

UON REPORT

In a letter accompanying the report, deputy VC in charge of Administration and Finance Peter Mbithi, says the allegation by unions that staff were underpaid was incorrect because payments were made according to the CBA.

“There was no surplus that accrued due to staff being underpaid because the funds remitted to the university were paid,” he says.

Kenyatta University, the report shows, had a surplus of Sh12 million a figure attributed to staff who had left the university.

Egerton University, Njoro, is reported to Sh6 million surplus, although it also paid out nearly double the amount to an unspecified number of senior management staff.

JKUAT paid Sh12 million to seven top managers and had a deficit of Sh78 million, according to the report.

At Moi University, seven senior managers shared out Sh13 million. Vice-Chancellor Richard Mibey said they had remained with Sh1.8 million.

“The balance will be used to pay staff who left the university before the money was received but are entitled (to receive it),” he said.

Maseno University spent Sh4.4 million to pay four senior managers while Prof Joseph Bosire of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University reported that the institution’s Sh2 million surplus was retained to “support the current payroll, which continues to face financial deficit”.

That is besides Sh8 million paid to senior management.

Taita Taveta University College, a new college, spent money meant for the CBA to recruit and pay new staff. It also paid out Sh12 million to top management.

Kabianga University College reported a surplus of Sh3 million, with a similar amount going to the top leadership.

TOP MANAGEMENT

At Karatina, the top management went home with Sh6 million although it reported a surplus of Sh2 million.

And the Dedan Kimathi University, the top management took home Sh4.4 million, and the university had a surplus of Sh2.4 million. Kirinyaga University College had a surplus of Sh8.4 million while its top management were paid Sh13 million.

At the University of Eldoret, VC Teresia Akenga said balances from the allocated funds would be utilised to settle payroll related debts.

Technical University of Kenya VC Francis Aduol wants the ministry to allow his institution to spend the surplus as capitation grants. Kibabii University College, which had a shortage of staff used some of the money to pay part-time lecturers.

Rongo University in South Nyanza used Sh18 million to supplement the wage bill. Also using the surplus to plug the payment shortfall was Laikipia University, which spent Sh8 million.