It was drama at Makerere University on Thursday as both teaching and non-teaching staff lined up for a head count exercise directed by the Auditor General’s office.
More than 1000 academic and support staff of the university spent several hours in the queue in their respective university faculties and colleges for the exercise. By 1:00pm, at least 500 staff were lining up at the former faculty of arts where the exercise was going on.
Some of the lecturers were overheard complaining that they were being made to queue like school children lining up for food. Others questioned the rationale of having just one desk person to do the entire exercise.
The Auditor General John Muwanga directed the head count as a measure to clean the institution of ghost workers. According to a circular dated February 7th from the University’s human resource department, the three-day exercise is being conducted by PriceWaterHouse Coopers, an international audit firm.
The exercise that ends on Friday involves a physical verification of all the employees who are asked to present their identity cards, and for workers who joined the university in July 2010 to present a copy of their appointment letters.
Sebastian Ngobi, the director in charge of human resource at the university declined to divulge further details when contacted by Uganda Radio Network at his offices at the University Main Building.
Dr. Tanga Odoi, the chairperson Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) welcomes the exercise saying it would be the best option to eliminate a number of ghosts from the university staff list.
// Cue in: “We have 1300 …
Cue out: … should be the right people.” //
However, by close of business on Thursday close to two thirds of the staff at the former faculty of arts, now College of Humanities and Social Sciences, had not been verified including Odoi.
// Cue in: “It is a good …
Cue out: … hundreds of people.” //
Like Odoi, James Kato, another worker who spent several hours in the queue and missed being verified, is concerned that the majority of the workers might become ghosts after missing the verification exercise.
Towards 5:00pm, the university dons, now numbering over 200 in the queue, were told it was time up and asked to photocopy their identity cards or appointment letters and submit them. Many of them protested saying they had been in the queue for more than one hour while others called the exercise a waste of their time. Odoi himself just walked back to his office saying he had no time to stand in the queue.
Annette Margaret Tumwesigye after presenting her initials to the verification desk sounded suspicious of the outcomes of the exercise.
// Cue in: “Please hold on …
Cue out: …ebya Uganda kati!” //
The verification involves checking the staff names, job title and the presentation of a photocopy of the institution’s identity card.
