Africa-Press – Eswatini. The University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Financial Director (Bursar) Mfanuzile Dlamini has revealed that the institution is insolvent and struggling to stay open.
The bursar further said the institution had a total debt of over E1 billion and depended on the relationship they had with their suppliers to stay operational.
UNESWA Vice Chancellor Justice Thwala further indicated that the institution was in desperate need of a bailout from government to write off some of the debts, which include over E700 million owed to the Eswatini Revenue Services. (ERS)
This was revealed during the appearance of the ministry of education and training before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday.
Thwala revealed that government’s failure to honour their debts made the situation worse for the institution which was currently owed E81 million in tuition fees for the previous financial year by the ministry of labour and social security.
“We are still owed tuition fees by government and it looks like the old debt will be carried over to the new year.”
He said they, however, were not resting on their laurels and were undertaking steps to regenerate revenue through the establishment of a business at Luyengo Campus to try and raise funds. He said this was not enough and they would continue to seek donor funding which was proving to be more difficult. He said the institution depended on their suppliers who were understanding and tolerated the late payments.
“We cannot keep going like this and we need a bailout. We are pleading for assistance from Parliament to have the debt written off since we can no longer get financial assistance from banks due to our bad debt sheet,” he said. He was seconded by the bursar (Mfanuzile Dlamini), who stated that the institution was at the mercy of their suppliers who were understanding and able to provide them with the goods and services without demanding payment upfront.
“It is safe to say that UNESWA is insolvent and if we were a private institution, we would have closed down a long time ago,” he said.
PAC Deputy Chairperson Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso Scorpion Nxumalo enquired if the institution has a turnaround strategy in place. He also asked if they considered shrinking the institution since a number of the courses offered were now redundant and would then expand in future.
“Have you considered scaling down and focusing on the disciplines that are in demand to cut down on your expenses and you will then reconsider the rest later?” enquired Nxumalo.
Meanwhile, Mangcongco MP Oneboy Zikalala noted that retrenchment as a means to cut costs would be costly.
He said there was a need to consider other alternatives.
The vice chancellor indicated that they had started implementing a turnaround strategy, which included freezing all unessential posts. He said they have also engaged a consultant to increase their networks to attract more grant funding among other means.
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