UNZA lecturers union lament K233.7 million miserly budget for 2025, debt burden of K1.385 billion

The University of Zambia (UNZA) Lecturers’ Union has urged the government to increase its grant allocation by at least 50 percent for the 2025 national budget to alleviate the institution’s growing financial burdens.

Professor Andrew Phiri, president of the UNZA Lecturers and Researchers’ Union (UNZALARU), at a media briefing on Wednesday at the Great East Campus, said that current funding levels were insufficient.

He called for prioritising the liquidation of UNZA’s outstanding debt, which had severely hampered its operations.

Phiri expressed disappointment over the minimal 1.6 percent increase in UNZA’s 2025 budget allocation, noting that this was significantly lower than allocations for other public universities, such as the Copperbelt University (CBU), which received a 50.5 percent increase.

“Despite being Zambia’s largest and oldest higher education institution, UNZA is heavily underfunded, with a debt of K1.385 billion in unpaid terminal benefits, pensions, gratuities, and unremitted National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) contributions as of June 2024,” Phiri stated.

He argued that the K233.7 million allocated to UNZA for 2025 barely addressed the university’s financial woes, covering only 29 percent of the payroll and leaving a 71 percent gap that UNZA must fill through internally generated income.

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“This shortfall means critical areas such as research, infrastructure development, and operational costs will continue to suffer,” he said.

Phiri highlighted that UNZA had faced a chronic funding shortfall, forcing the institution to use almost all its internally generated revenue to meet salary obligations, leaving little for essential initiatives.

He reiterated the need for specific government funds to cover terminal benefits, pensions and other statutory obligations.

“The current budget falls far short of what is needed. We urge the government to reconsider the allocation before the final budget is approved; otherwise, UNZA will remain burdened by debt, operational inefficiencies, and a demoralised workforce,” Phiri concluded.

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