By Julius Nkunda & Gerald Niyirinda
Bufumbira North MP, John Kamara Nizeyimana, has rallied teachers from Town Councils in Kisoro district whose hard-to-reach allowance has been suspended to lay down their tools today.
Hon Kamara, a former Primary One teacher, says the decision by the Kisoro District Local Government to suspend the allowances for teachers working in Town Councils was unfair.
On Wednesday, Hon Kamara circulated an audio message on several WhatApp groups, stating that any affected teacher who goes to work on Thursday, will have betrayed colleagues.
Hon Kamara admitted owning the audio message when contacted by our reporter. He said he felt the teachers’ pain.
According to him, teachers’ allowances were unfairly suspended before the end of the Financial Year, which had their allowances budgeted for.
In the audio, Hon Kamara urges the affected teachers to stay away from work, saying their allowances are being swindled by a group of people at the Kisoro District administration, hiding behind a government policy.
“All teachers teaching in Town Councils within Kisoro whose hard-to-reach allowances have been cut and those whose allowances are yet to be cut, I appeal to you, tomorrow, don’t go to school. Don’t go to school before you get your money, because I know it is at the district and they want to share it. Any teacher who goes to school will have betrayed his colleagues, be a bad person.”
He adds, “Teachers, I request you, starting tomorrow morning, don’t go to school until you get your money that is yet to be shared here in Kisoro. This is announced by Kamara John Nizeyimana, MP Bufumbira North Constituency, your fellow teacher.”
When asked, the Chairperson for Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) Kisoro branch, Alex Matata, said the suspension of teachers’ allowances had negatively affected those who are struggling with loans.
“The decision caught us unaware, inflicting further injuries to poorly paid teachers. When I got the complaints from teachers, I initially wrote to the District Speaker and UNATU Secretariat, but received no positive response. They said it was a government policy, and we couldn’t strike.”
According to Matata, they will start their strike today, since they have been preached to by a lawmaker.
“Today I am happy. We are lucky a legislator who makes policies such as this has decided to save us. He says teachers within affected Town Councils should strike, so that government understands our pain.”
The UNATU Chairperson adds that “most affected teachers are in a crisis due to multiple loans and the suspension of hard-to-reach allowances will push some of us from teaching, because there is nothing left at the Bank.”
Our efforts to speak to the Kisoro Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) or his assistants, and the Human Resource Department were futile by Wednesday evening.
The Bukimbiri County Member of Parliament, Eddie Kwizera waGahungu was also not readily available for a comment.
However, the Kisoro LC5 Chairperson, Abel Bizimana dismissed Hon Kamara’s calls for the teachers’ strike, saying it won’t change a government policy in place.
“It shocks us as Local Government authorities to see an MP who knows that it’s a government policy that no civil servants within urban councils should receive hard-to-reach allowances is here playing games.”
“Hon Kamara is an MP who should rather debate in Parliament for reform or change, not demonstrating against a policy in place.”
Bizimana asked teachers to attend to classes today, noting that the decision to suspend the hard-to-reach allowance was not limited to teachers, but all civil servants.
“Teachers, I tell you the truth like a learned person. The policy applied to all civil servants. The policy is applying everywhere. Please go to schools and ignore calls for a strike.” Bizimana said.
In a recent interview, the Kisoro District Council Speaker, Amos Hakiziamana, said some leaders hurriedly advocatted for the new Town Councils, without thinking twice about their negative implications.
In the 2010/2011 Financial Year, Government introduced a 30% allowance to primary teachers working in hard-to-reach areas.
The then Education Minister, represented by Mwesigwa Rukutana, while appearing before the Education Committee of Parliament, said the allowance was to control the rate of resignation of teachers who are posted to such areas by giving them an incentive.
The allowances were for remote districts and were considered insecure, with poor infrastructure, and suffered prolonged conflicts, are surrounded by water bodies or are mountainous.
Despite the policy spelling out the incentive for urban councils, the affected teachers complain of tedious long journeys, in remote mountainous areas, especially in Bufumbira North and Bukimbiri County.
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