General
Dr. Onoria, Members of Staff Appeals Tribunal Sworn In
The New Chairperson, Dr. Henry Onoria and Members of the Makerere University Staff Appeals Tribunal were on Thursday 16th November 2023 sworn in to commence their four-year term by Her Worship Evelyn Najjuuko, Senior Grade One Magistrate, Wakiso Court. On hand to witness the swearing-in ceremony were the Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara, Chairperson Appointments Board, Mr. Edwin Karugire, Chairperson Legal, Rules, Privileges and Estates Committee, Mr. George Bamugemereire and Members of Council; Dr. Diana Ahumuza Ateenyi, Dr. Deus Kamnyu Muhwezi and Mr. Jackson Byamukama.
Members of University Management present included the Acting (Ag.) Vice Chancellor, Prof. Umar Kakumba, Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration), Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, Dean of Students, Mrs. Winifred Kabumbuli, University Bursar, Mr. Evarist Bainomugisha, Ag. Director Human Resources, Mr. Deus Tayari Mujuni, Ag. Director Estates and Works, Eng. Darius Muwanguzi, Ag. Director Internal Audit, Mr. Patrick Akonyet, and Ag. Director Legal Affairs, Mr. Hudson Musoke. Staff Associations were equally well represented by their executives and leaders namely; Chairperson Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Dr. Robert Kakuru, Chairperson Makerere University Administrative Staff Association (MASA), Mr. Bennet Magara and Ag. Chairperson National Union of Educational Institutions (NUEI), Mr. Isaac Okello. The Ag. Head, Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC), Dr. Busingye Kabumba was in attendance.
Vice Chancellor Welcomes Tribunal Members
Welcoming all present Prof. Kakumba appreciated God for the wonderful opportunity to witness the swearing in of the Staff Appeals Tribunal, one of the important organs of the University. He noted that systems, structures and processes enable institutions such as Makerere to not only exist but thrive. This, in the case of the Staff Appeals Tribunal, is achieved by inculcating a harmonious level of co-existence when contradictions emerge.
“The tribunal is such an important organ to handle issues related to grievances, reconciliation and foster the strategic vision of the institution” said the Ag. Vice Chancellor. He therefore congratulated and thanked Dr. Onoria for accepting to come back to his alma mater and head this important organ.
“We are looking forward to your contribution towards fostering the strategic vision of Makerere University as a thought leader in knowledge generation for societal transformation and development” he added.
Chairperson Appointments Board pledges Cordiality
In his brief remarks, Mr. Karugire couldn’t help but share with the audience how he constantly reminds fellow Council Members how he is more Makererean that they are, having been born, raised, educated and now actively serving on the Governing body. “And so it is an honour and a privilege to serve at this great institution.”
He pledged on behalf of the Appointments Board to ensure that in the exercise of its mandate, his Council Committee would strive to make the Tribunal’s workload is lighter. This, he noted, would be achieved by placing Makerere’s mission to provide transformative teaching and learning as well as research environment responsive to national and global needs at the core of all activities.
Mr. Karugire added that the achievement of this mission requires highly motivated, disciplined and committed staff, which makes keeping them (staff) accountable very important. “In this regard, the Appointments Board as well as the Tribunal have different but complimentary roles.”
He concluded by saying that he was looking forward to working with the distinguished members of the tribunal to serve the great Makerere and renewed his pledge to foster a cordial working relationship between the Appointments Board and Tribunal.
New Tribunal Members Sworn In
The University Secretary, Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, who moderated the event shared that Makerere University Staff Appeals Tribunal is by law made up of eight members including a Chairperson; appointed by the Chancellor, and representatives from the University Council (1), University Senate (1), MUASA (2), MASA (2) and the Ministry of Public Service (1). At the time of the swearing-in, the Ministry of Public Service was yet to nominate its representative. As such, the members present were sworn in as listed below;
- Dr. Henry Onoria – Chairperson
- Rt. Hon. Daniel Fred Kidega – Council Representative
- Assoc. Prof. Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala – Senate Representative
- Ms. Rhoda Nalubega – MUASA Female Representative
- Dr. Fred Maniragaba – MUASA Male Representative
- Ms. Sarah Wegosasa – MASA Female Representative
- Mr. Joseph Kalema – MASA Male Representative
HW Najjuuko Calls for Confidentiality
Following the administration of oaths, Her Worship Najjuuko congratulated Members of the Staff Appeals Tribunal upon being sworn in and reminded them that “with great power comes great responsibility.
“I pray that you are able to run this office for the term that you are appointed. Please serve it with integrity, professionalism, and I need to emphasize, with confidentiality…and may God bless and keep you,” remarked Her Worship. She concluded by observing that there was no Muslim member of the Tribunal and prayed that there would be one at the next opportunity.
Acceptance Remarks by Dr. Onoria
Delivering his acceptance remarks, the Chairperson of the Staff Appeals Tribunal thanked all present for sparing time to come and witness the swearing-in ceremony. However, he was quick to add that he looked forward to receiving the eighth and final member, the nominee from the Ministry of Public Service. He went on to share that as one who completed his Bachelor of Laws in 1992 and returned to teach for fourteen years from 1998 to 2011, it gave him great pleasure to come back and serve Makerere University, where he spent a significant part of his adult life.
“From where I stand, this is a great opportunity to do one final round in terms of service to the University because I’m not getting any younger…what I can pledge as we start after this tribunal inauguration and swearing-in is that we begin to look at how to fast track resolving some of the matters that have been pending for over six months” said the Chairperson.
The pending cases notwithstanding, Dr. Onoria was particularly happy that the Staff Appeals Tribunal is guided by rules of procedure, and thanked the Legal, Rules, Privileges and Estates Committee of Council for drafting them. He was also pleased that the Tribunal’s membership was largely made up of staff, who will offer a deeper understanding of the cases presented by aggrieved colleagues. “The constituency brings a lot to work out how best to resolve disputes and I am hoping that with the team that is continuing their tenure, my tasks will be much easier as Chair.”
He thanked the Chairperson Appointments Board for his commitment to a culture of collaboration, which will help map out the best ways of resolving disputes as they arise. “I want to thank everybody for coming and I look forward to executing this role…may God bless everybody on the tribunal and give us wisdom and understanding,” he prayed.
Concluding Remarks by Chairperson of Council
Concluding the day’s remarks, the Chairperson of Council expressed pleasure at participating in the inauguration of the Staff Appeals Tribunal and thanked Her Worship for presiding over the swearing-in of the new team. She congratulated Dr. Onoria, the new, as well as continuing members upon being appointed to serve in the critical role.
“The University Council looks forward to your team as a strong pillar of the university’s grievance handling mechanism, which should promote good governance, foster staff confidence and motivation and at the end of the day, improve service delivery” remarked Mrs. Magara. She equally thanked the outgoing Chairperson Justice John Patrick Mashongo Tabaro and his team for their service to the university.
The Chairperson of Council reiterated that the overarching goal of the Makerere University Strategic Plan to position the institution as “a sustainable research-led and responsive university with a highly productive workforce churning out versatile graduates” ought to remind staff of the shared responsibility to deliver on the national development agenda and to push collectively to achieve the plan’s targets.
Turning to the Staff Appeals Tribunal, Mrs. Magara was pleased to note that Dr. Onoria not only has the legal experience and knowledge but also an emotional attachment to the university as a former staff and student. She nevertheless cautioned that the rule of law ought to be the cornerstone of service, “whether in Council, whether in Management or the Staff Tribunal.”
The swearing-in ceremony was followed on 16th and 17th November 2023 by inauguration and orientation activities for members of the Staff Appeals Tribunal as well as relevant Council Committees. The University Secretary also used the occasion to recognise Dr. Josephine Ndagire and Mr. Peter Eneru, the Secretary and Clerk of Staff Appeals Tribunal respectively as well as Mrs. Naome Kiconco Ocheing and Ms. Annet Nakayovu as staff who contribute to its smooth running.
General
African Universities urged on developing comprehensive safeguarding policies with critical elements of safety & protection
The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe has urged Universities and other institutions of higher learning in Africa to embrace the approach of having comprehensive safeguarding policies where important elements of safety and protection are considered and all the common forms of risk, abuse and harm are emphasized.
This was during the Vice Chancellors’ Forum, one of the high powered side events of the RUFORUM Annual General Meeting that provides significant platforms for Vice Chancellors of all RUFORUM member Universities to engage, discuss, deliberate and guide on how universities, government and development partners can support the RUFORUM vision and mission of becoming a leader in higher agricultural education.
The Vice Chancellors’ Forum 2023 that was held in Yaoundé Cameroon during the 19th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting that proceeded from 28th October- 2nd November 2023 was the most attended ever with over 150 Vice Chancellors from 40 African countries and other parts of the world. The Forum deliberated on emerging and contemporary issues in higher education to strengthen university systems, promote inclusion and enhance the relevance of universities in national and regional development.
In her welcome speech, Prof. Theresia Nkuo-Akenji, RUFORUM Board Chair and Vice Chancellor University of Bamenda, Cameroon welcomed all Vice chancellors in attendance and acknowledged their strong commitment to the RUFORUM as a Network. She also appreciated the efforts of the Vice Chancellors in setting the agenda for the network to ensure its competitiveness.
According to her, RUFORUM has come of age but growth across every life’s journey comes along with its own challenges and opportunities. She therefore thanked all the Vice Chancellors that have committed and continue to clear the membership fees in time on annual basis. “Your contribution of US$5,000 is what keeps the Secretariat operational,” she said.
Prof. Theresia Nkuo-Akenji drew the attention of the Vice Chancellors to some critical issues such as low institutional burn-out rates of grant funding, the terrible completion rate of graduate students across the network, curriculum reviews that do not incorporate innovative academic programmes and policies that do not respond to global discourses. Noting that such issues have posed serious barriers achieving the network’s objectives.
She urged all universities to collectively support the RUFORUM Secretariat during resource mobilization. “It is important to note that RUFORUM Secretariat is not a donor as many of the members might perceive it. Rather, RUFORUM Secretariat works with all of us to raise resources that can either be sub-granted and/or directly disbursed by the funding agency to each of the universities that is participating. The Secretariat can support the universities efforts in training and ideation processes as well as brokering partnerships with ease. However, we need to ensure that we are all cooperative,” She stated. Presenting a lead paper titled, Enhancing Safeguarding at institutions of higher Learning, Prof. Nawangwe noted that Makerere University is committed to being a professionally governed, equitable, inclusive and gender mainstreamed institution. In line with this commitment, Makerere University has cited the need to have a comprehensive safe guarding policy that is intentional in ensuring that important elements of safety and protection are considered and all the common forms of risk, abuse and harm are emphasized.
According to Prof. Nawangwe, over the years Makerere University has built a record of governing and administrative policies and frameworks such as the Makerere University Policy and Regulations against Sexual Harassment, Makerere University Gender Equity Policy, the Student Accommodation Policy, the Risk Management Plan, the Policy on Persons with Disabilities, the Human Resources Manual as amended, Information and Communication Technology Policy which addresses issues of cyber security and abuse and the Open Distance and E-learning Policy. However, these do not adequately and comprehensively address the key elements of safety and protection.
“These policies only feature identification and prevention as elements of safeguarding hence guidance on the report procedures are least provided for. They much highlight emotional risk and harm and neglect cyber security threats, financial exploitation, limitation of academic freedoms for staff and students,” he said.
“All in all, the policies lack some of the internationally considered forms of risk, abuse and harm. In Africa, we are the second recipients of refugees in the whole world, but we lack anything about protecting refugees in our policies and some of the policies do not have the strategic plans to address any form of risk, abuse and harm,” he added.
He mentioned that the COVID 19 pandemic escalated the issue of mental health with so many cases of mental illnesses globally, an indicator that it is only in a safe and protected environment that people are mentally healthy to be fully creative and innovative.
The Vice Chancellors Forum 2023 also deliberated on topics such as exploring mechanisms for integrating universities into national and regional innovation systems and aligning African agricultural higher education to the future-of-work on the continent and globally.
Presenting on behalf of Prof. Bonang Mohale, Chancellor, University of Free State, South Africa, Agnes W. Mwang’ombe, a Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology- Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection- University of Free State said that university education has become very competitive yet it is crucial for universities to remain ahead and relevant to their clients and other stakeholders through inclusive virtual modes that have set in new dimensions such as in-house pool of talent that in most cases await to be tapped. She mentioned that it is high time for Universities to shun away from the rampant blame games of how African graduates are not ready to tackle community challenges and focus on revamping, modifying and creating new systems of conducting research.
“As universities, we are expected to produce relevant information, knowledge, technologies, and innovations to fulfill aspirations; develop mechanisms to tap on human resource and mobilize research funds for the university. There is need for actual retooling of academic staff to be able to harness the various competences and skills represented in the universities including students through building alliances and effective teams to grant calls with wider society impact,” she said.
In the context of food and nutrition insecurity, Prof. Mwang’ombe noted that the changing climate has dwindled natural resources and increased social and economic inequalities hence raising concerns for more health food systems and eco-system services. She therefore called for collective efforts towards building resilience for sustainable agriculture and economic empowerment of those most affected by climate change through bio diversity restoration using natural based solutions.
“Food and nutrition is constrained by many factors including the heavy reliance on very few staple crops yet Africa has the diversity of crops some of which can handle some of the current situations,” she noted.
Painting a picture of the Future of Work for a competitive Africa, Prof. Peter Kamwi Matengu, Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia, was concerned about the role of higher education in developing interventions as a mitigating factor towards decreasing jobs in the agricultural sector. According to him, a report published in 2023 by the World Economic Forum recorded 673 million jobs across the globe. It is however expected that this number will decline by 83 million hence creating a job deficit of about 2%.
“It is not surprising that the field of agriculture which has increasingly been mechanized and automated will lose up to 60% of the jobs. The World Economic Forum report also notes that although the automation in Agriculture will create up to 25% of jobs, it is also expected that 75% of job will be lost in Africa if there is no intervention of up scaling and re scaling. This also means that 44% of the workers whose skills need to be upgraded will face a disruption,” he said.
Prof. Kamwi Matengu called upon universities in Africa to undertake relevant, impactful, responsive research that majorly focus on participation. “ The kind of research, I am talking about should enable us translate our knowledge into practice and African education should focus on national self- reliance and train people to be internationally competitive and to be very aware that we have the responsibility of the welfare of everyone,” he emphasized. The Vice Chancellors’ Forum 2023 was moderated by Prof. Roger Tsafack Nanfosso, Vice Chancellor, University of Dschang and Canon Prof. Olivia Nassaka Banja, Vice Chancellor of Ndejje University.
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