Domestic arrears in Public Universities: What are the drivers and effects?
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Abstract
Domestic arrears refer to the aggregate value of unpaid bills for goods, services and works rendered to an institution, at the closure of a Financial Year (FY).
Domestic arrears in universities usually comprise of court awards and compensations, gratuity and pension, taxes and other deductions, and wage related arrears for both teaching and non-teaching staff. Operational challenges in the universities have resulted in the accumulation of domestic arrears.
Despite measures put in place by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED), arrears have continued to accumulate. This has affected the smooth running of the institutions and the quality of education as demonstrated by the World University rankings, (2019) which indicated that no Ugandan university was among the top 500 universities in the world.
This policy brief highlights the key drivers in accumulation of domestic arrears, and the interventions undertaken to address the problem. In addition, it reviews the impact of arrears on service delivery and provides policy recommendations.