KAMPALA – A Human Resource Audit Report on Makerere University has urged the Institution’s top administration to establish a new company to manage accommodation in halls of residence, arguing that the proposal if adopted would generate revenue to a tune of Shs5.3b annually.
The August 2019 report was handed over to the Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University, Barnabas Nawangwe but was only made public recently when top management of the University had appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to respond to queries raised in the December 2019 audit report.
The report followed a directive by Makerere University Vice-Chancellor, to audit into the University’s human resource after the University was left grappling with Shs17b in wage shortages.
A 10-member Human Resource Audit Committee was instituted, headed by Prof. Noble Banadda, Chairman Contracts Committee and other members included: Dr. Vincent Ssembatya- Director Quality Assurance, Dr. Sylvia Nannyonga, Dr. Josephine Nabukenya, Dr. Paul Omach, Dr. John Mango, Dr. Godfrey Akileng, Andrew Abuyang, Richard Mugisha and Julius Lebo.
In its recommendations, the Committee noted that there is need for Makerere University to relinquish the management of halls to a University company and leave the University concetrate on its core mandate of research, teaching.
Makerere University has 4446-bed space in its 12 halls of Residence and at MasterCard Foundation rate of Shs600,000 per bed per semester, this translates into Shs2.667b per semester and Shs5.33b per year.
The report recommended, “A University company would be very ideal to run halls of residence as a business and would focus Makerere University on its core mandate of teaching research and community outreach.”