Addis Ababa University (AAU) held an inter-staff consultative discussion on the draft regulations of Human Resource and Financial Managements as well as Procurement and Property Administration matters intended to be authenticated when its autonomy is guaranteed, at Mandella Hall, on the 6^th of March 2023.

Professor Tassew Woldehanna, President of AAU, said that a number of measures have been taken to make AAU an independent chartered university for several years, and granting its being an autonomous institution is closer. In this regard, a decree stipulating the autonomous status was forwarded to the FDRE House of Representatives for the approval, he added.

He further said that an autonomy project office has been established under the planning directorate and has been setting up various committees and preparing regulations and manuals in order to implement the autonomy. They have been doing reforms and revised policies of research, infrastructure, university-industry linkage; academic, governance, community engagement, senate legislations and other mandates, he detailed.

  “After the autonomous, AAU will be governed by regulations and will have its own human resource management, financial management, procurement and property management regulations which have been sent to the House of Representatives. These draft regulations that we are discussing today will fix the future of the University and our activities,” the President said.

According to Prof. Tassew, all these regulations and laws have been designed keeping relevant national and international laws in mind. And the effectiveness of research activities, academic and community services as well as reducing bureaucracy and eliminating corruption of the University should be emphasized ahead, he stated further.

Professor Tassew finally stated that, as of the organizational structure was discussed and comments were taken before, he asked the participants to actively discuss and provide fruitful comments and inputs; the regulations will be revised based on the comments; they will be approved by the University board and put into operations.

Tsehay Yemane, Director for AAU’s Office of HRM and Development, presented the revised HRMD regulations and mentioned the major changes on salary, benefit, incentives, allowances, employment and promotion requirements, performance evaluation, retirement age and job evaluation.

Degefa Duressa (PhD), Chief Executive Finance Officer at AAU and Bogale Acha, presented the financial management issues and procurement and property administration regulations respectively. Then, audience discussion continued and various concerns were raised for further clarifications.

Reporter: Tsion Aysheshim

Photo: Andualem Aseffa

Editor: Abraham Girmay