By Julius Odeke

25^th July 2011:

Hard times ahead: Control tower at Soroti Flying School

The ongoing wave of strikes taking place in different sectors across the country has reached and gripped the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA) in Soroti where students have warned that unless the situation improves, they will go on strike, Uganda Correspondent can exclusively reveal.

Key among the many grievances for which the students are planning a strike are non payment of staff wages, the ‘disappearance’ of the Academy’s Director Mr. Bernard Wandera, and the total lack of aviation fuel for practical lessons at the Academy.

Speaking through their Guild, the students have complained of what they have called “the unbecoming situation” that is putting their learning at risk because there is no close supervision by Flying Instructors.  They also said the Shs2.5 billion renovation works at the academy is also being put at risk because of the uncertainties.

“…One of these days we shall strike because since March we have not been given practical lessons due to dodging Instructors who say they cannot teach us when they are not paid and when there is no aviation fuel to run the aircrafts that are used for flight practices”, said one student.

Mr. Jesse Muhwezi, who is the Deputy Guild President of the Soroti-based EACAA flying school told this reporter that the lack of a substantive Director and non payment of staff wages for the last three months has jeopardized smooth operations at the old fly academy.

“…The administration [of the Academy] has now been left to the student’s guild body with little solutions being offered since there are no finances.  We pay so much but what we are getting in return is not worthy of it.  Whenever we want to get answers, there is no one at our disposal to help us”, Muhwezi complained.

Ministry of works publicist Suzan Kaike however played down the crisis and maintained that all is well at the EACAA.  She also denied the student’s claims that the Academy’s Director Bernard William Wandera had not vanished.  “…He has only been acting and that position he has been occupying was advertised”, Kaike said in a telephone interview.

She also dismissed as baseless complaints that Transaction International [the firm that is doing the renovations at the EACAA] is doing shoddy work by simply replacing asbestos roofs with iron sheets, painting walls, and ‘colluding’ with her ministry to increase the contract amount from Shs2.3 billion to 2.5 billion.  “…If there are variations which I am not aware of in the contract cost then it is justifiable given the current economic problems we are facing”, she said.

The flying Academy’s Guild President Mr Alex Godfrey Okuron however said that whereas they were initially told by the administration that the renovation work was billed at Shs2.3billion, they were surprised to learn that the price later shot up to Shs2.5billion.

He added that the renovation work has gone beyond the stipulated contract period [10 months from March 2010] and as a result, students have been forced to hire accommodation outside the EACAA campus.  Okuron said since March, the school has hired 175 rooms in Soroti.

“…We now use candles like villagers for lighting in our rooms.  We have a guild that can’t hold a meeting of its council due to lack of funds”, Okuron complained.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.