HARARE
–
MPs
demanded
a
ministerial
statement
from
higher
and
tertiary
education
minister
Frederick
Shava
as
a
strike
over
poor
pay
by
University
of
Zimbabwe
lecturers
entered
its
58th
day
on
Tuesday.
Lawmakers
accused
Shava
of
routinely
snubbing
parliament
as
the
crisis
at
the
university
deepens.
Charles
Moyo
(CCC)
described
the
situation
at
UZ
as
“chaotic”
and
a
“sheer
waste
of
time”
for
students,
warning
that
dissertations
are
going
unsupervised,
exams
are
not
being
written,
and
even
newly
recruited
adjunct
lecturers
were
sometimes
not
turning
up
for
work.
“Yesterday
(Tuesday)
there
were
demonstrations
from
the
lecturers,
yet
other
students
are
to
go
for
attachments.
It
seems
this
semester
is
a
sheer
waste
of
time
to
students
as
well
as
a
loss
to
parents’
hard-earned
money,”
Moyo
said
in
the
National
Assembly.
”There
is
chaos
and
uncertainty
at
our
institution.
If
it
pleases
you
Honourable
Speaker
Sir,
I
request
the
absent
minister
of
higher
education,
innovation,
science
and
technology
development
to
come
just
once
and
give
us
a
ministerial
statement
on
the
negotiations,
deadlocks
or
practical
interventions
to
bring
normalcy
to
our
tertiary
institution.”
Speaker
of
Parliament
Jacob
Mudenda
accepted
the
request
and
pledged
to
notify
the
minister.
The
crisis
has
escalated
in
recent
days
after
the
university
withheld
salaries
for
striking
lecturers
in
an
apparent
retaliation
for
their
continued
industrial
action.
The
lecturers
are
demanding
a
return
to
pre-2018
wage
levels
of
US$2,250
per
month
for
junior
lecturers
—
a
steep
increase
from
the
current
US$230.
Obvious
Vengeyi,
the
spokesman
for
the
Association
of
University
Teachers
(AUT),
slammed
the
move
as
an
attempt
to
intimidate
lecturers
back
to
work.
“Of
course,
it
is
an
act
of
trying
to
force
our
members
to
return
to
work
for
the
US$230
they
initially
rejected.
It’s
a
way
of
arm-twisting
certain
members
of
our
community
to
resume
teaching,”
Vengeyi
said.
He
added
that
the
salary
cuts
had
only
strengthened
the
lecturers’
resolve.
“Many
here
who
have
not
been
paid
have
resolved
that,
whether
they
receive
the
US$230
or
not,
they
will
not
return.
Until
junior
lecturers
get
US$2,250,
we
will
not
go
back
to
class.”
The
university
has
remained
officially
silent
on
the
strike
but
has
hired
adjunct
lecturers
in
an
attempt
to
fill
gaps
left
by
striking
staff.
However,
the
AUT
has
dismissed
the
replacements
as
largely
unqualified
and
ineffective.
“There
is
no
teaching
happening
at
the
university.
No
supervision
is
taking
place.
A
few
scabs
have
been
hired
to
replace
—
sort
of
—
the
lecturers
on
strike,”
Vengeyi
added.