Lupane State University (LSU) has reportedly failed to pay its part-time lecturers their monthly allowances, with the latter threatening to down tools.
The affected academic staff through their representative body, the Academic Staff Association, has since written to the university management registering their grievances.
“Noting that at the beginning of the Semester I/II of the 2017-2018 academic year on behalf of the Lupane State University Council, you appointed Academic staff members as part-time lecturers in their respective departments.
“As part of your commitment towards this appointment, you devoted to paying 50% of the lecturer`s claim at the end of the month in which the examination began,” read the letter written by the Association`s secretary, Dr Nkululeko Sibanda.
Dr Sibanda said they will withdraw their services to force the state university to honour its contractual obligation.
“As Academic Staff Association, we have resolved to not mark all part-time and extra load examination scripts until such a time when you have honoured your contractual obligation, upon honouring your contractual obligation, we will take two weeks to mark and collate examination marks and we will also engage legal representation,” said Dr Sibanda.
Dr Sibanda said they were giving the university three working days to respond to their demands failure which they will engage in industrial action.
“Having outlined the Association`s demands and plan of action to you, the Association demands that you respond to this petition within 3 days of receiving it. Failure to which, you will force the Association to take u other alternative avenues to seek redress, among others but not limited to legal action and sanctioned mass action”.
Meanwhile, sources at the state university say there is alleged misuse of finances with management reportedly awarding themselves perks at the expense of other staff members.
This publication has it on good authority that there are two audits that were conducted at the state university which unearthed some financial misconduct.
According to some sources at the university, management were awarding themselves obscene allowances.
“The management is paying itself huge allowances without the approval of the university council and even Personal Assistants to some of the managers are getting perks which are higher than that of lecturers. Imagine PAs have perks that include laptops, tablets and allowances for graduation clothes” fumed one staff member.
“We understand they also have school fees for their children paid for by the university ,’ said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Efforts to get a comment from the university bursar Smile Sibanda were fruitless as his mobile phone was not going through.
Also non-academic staff have not yet been paid their block allowances. The issue will be taken upwards failure to honor the payments. We are watching. Time is coming that the non-academic staff will take action