University staff in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region have lived without a salary for over a year.
An armed conflict broke out in November 2020, and fighters of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) advanced toward the capital, Addis Ababa, before being pushed back by the government forces.
An estimated 7,000 staff at Mekelle University have not received a paycheque since the fighting started, a report says.
Staff report that some have fallen ill from exhaustion while on duty due to walking to work because there is no fuel.
Although the institution is a federal institute, the federal government did not send us the school’s budget money, and staff members say that their children were getting malnourished.
State Minister of Education Dr. Samuel Kifle, explained that the university staff will have to wait for the government to release funds meant for all federal institutions in Tigray.
”University staff who fled the region are receiving their salaries and have been posted to other universities. But for those still in Tigray we can do nothing,” Kifle said.
The authorities in Tigray have warned of a deteriorating humanitarian situation and have blamed a government-imposed blockade for increasing levels of hunger.