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Unitech crisis ends
BY PETER KORUGL
AN independent team will look into the
allegations made by the National Academic Staff Association (NASA)
against the University of Technology administration.
This was one of the key points agreed to by the university council and
NASA members over the weekend.
The crisis resolution had encouraged the more than 2,000 students to
return to their classes yesterday after being away for about three weeks
and brought an end to uncertainty, frustrations and fears within the
campus.
University sources said the terms of reference for the team, yet to be
announced, would be drawn up and agreed to sometime this week.
The Ombudsman Commission would also investigate the allegations, many of
which are “serious”, according to Morobe Governor Luther Wenge.
Mr Wenge had met the NASA executives at the height of the crisis at the
Taraka campus.
The independent team was expected to present their findings after the
third or fourth week.
If there were sufficient evidence of mismanagement and malpractices at
the university, then the senior executive management will be sidelined
and the Ombudsman will take over, the source said.
The allegations listed among others are:
*Non-payment of domestic market allowance,
incompetence and negligence;
*Excessive working hours for security
personnel, incompetence, negligence, abuse of authority and unfair
practices;
*Incompetence and negligence in connection
with superfund remittance;
*Appointment of relatives and friends to
positions at the university;
*Abolition of national academic staff training
and introduction of graduate assistance programme;
*Centralisation of housing and security
committee’s decision;
*Cash advances and purchases of vehicles
registered under private ownership;
*Furlough leave and resignation of registrar;
*Excessive use of fringe benefits by senior
executive management people;
*Payment of K135,000 to a US-based company for
goods that were never received;
*Excessive and suspicious maintenance and
servicing bills for university vehicles;
*Swapping of vice-chancellor’s official
vehicle number plate with a private number plate;
*Misuse of university funds by DODL and Seven
Habits Franchise; and
*Recruitment of non-citizens staff.
The issues were resolved by NASA members and the council over the
weekend, leading to the signing of the agreement.
The crisis resolution had encouraged the more than 2000 students to
return to their classes yesterday after being away for about three weeks
and brought an end to uncertainty, frustrations and fears within the
campus.
The students had feared that the current academic year could have been
wasted and that they would have to come back next year to repeat their
courses.
“They (students) are back in classes and everything is very quiet on
campus,” a source in the student representative council told The
National.
 
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