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UIA board rejects Museveni’s plea, appoints new executive director
Newly appointed Uganda Investment Authority Director General, Mr Robert Mukiza (left) and former executive director, Ms Jolly Kaguhangire (right).
What you need to know:
- Mr Robert Mukiza leads Global and Green Growth Institute (GGGI)’s support to the implementation of the Government of Ethiopia’s Climate Resilience Green Economy strategy. He also leads GGGI’s engagement with the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
- In November 2018, UIA board chaired by Mr Emely Kugonza terminated Ms Jolly Kaguhangire’s contract. The board’s decision had been reached in a special sitting on October 26. Mr Kugonza said the decision was based on findings of an independent investigation conducted by a six-member committee into allegations against Ms Kaguhangire.
Former Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) executive director Jolly Kaguhangire will have to look elsewhere for a job after the board rejected President Museveni’s plea and appointed Robert Mukiza to take up the reigns at the investment body.
Mr Mukiza has been a deputy director and representative of the African Union Commission the Global and Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Ethiopia. The GGGI is a treaty-based global inter-governmental organisation aimed at promoting green growth. The organisation develops and merges countries to design and deliver programmes and services that demonstrate new pathways to pro-poor economic growth.
On October 30, UIA board chairperson Emely Kugonza forwarded Mr Mukiza’s name to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija for appointment. Mr Mukiza beat five other candidates in the recently concluded interviews for the job.
Mr Mukiza topped the interview scores with 84 per cent and Ms Joyce Namirimo Tamale, the managing director of Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG), emerged second with 70 per cent.
The two names, including written overview of their educational, professional qualifications and other experiences, were sent to Mr Kasaija to pick the new UIA director general.
“The purpose of this letter is to submit to you the above results of the interviews and recommend that you consider appointing the best candidate as Director General of UIA in line with Section 7(3) of the Investment Code Act, 2019,” Mr Kugonza’s letter reads in part.
The letter is titled: “Recruitment of Director General for Uganda Investment Authority.”
Five candidates were interviewed and shortlisted.
When contacted at the weekend, Mr Mukiza said: “This is news to me I have not been officially appointed. Who told you that? But anyway, since you are from the Daily Monitor maybe it’s true…. Since it has reached people like you may be it is good news. It is true I did the interview but they have not yet notified me. That is why I cannot comment [on the appointment].”
Although in his letter, Mr Kugonza talked of five people who were shortlisted and interviewed for the position of UIA Director General, other directors told Daily Monitor that 30 people had applied for the position and six were shortlisted and interviewed last Wednesday. Two candidates were picked from the interviews and their names sent to Finance Minister for appointment.
When asked to explain why Ms Kaguhangire did not get her job back as the President had advised in one of the meetings at State House, Mr Kugonza said he was busy and requested to speak on the matter today.
When news leaked about the move to return Ms Kaguhangire to UIA, Mr Kugonza told Daily Monitor in June that he was not aware of such plans, and firmly reminded those who were lobbying for her reinstatement that she had never been cleared on the matters the board relied on to remove her from office.
“She [Ms Kaguhangire] was cleared on some of the issues the whistleblowers raised but not on the substantive matters the board based itself to terminate her contract,” Mr Kugonza said in June.
“The Inspector General of Government (IGG) report did not make any recommendations or give any order in respect to Jolly…..If the decision to terminate her contract was illegal, [the board] decision would have been quashed by IGG and order for her reinstatement….but if she thinks she wants to come back, she can challenge the decision in the courts of law,” he added.
Mr Kasaija was contacted yesterday to comment on the reported appointment of Mukiza but declined to comment on the matter. Ms Kaguhangire was not available to comment either.
After IGG cleared Ms Kaguhangire some time back, she ran to State House and met the President. She denied all the accusations against her and complained about “witch hunt” by the former board members, who had accused her of incompetence and corruption.
Mr Kasaija and other senior officials in the Ministry of Finance were said to be opposed to Ms Kaguhangire’s return to UIA.
Background
Kaguhangire’s termination. In November 2018, UIA board chaired by Mr Emely Kugonza terminated Ms Jolly Kaguhangire’s contract. The board’s decision had been reached in a special sitting on October 26. Mr Kugonza said the decision was based on findings of an independent investigation conducted by a six-member committee into allegations against Ms Kaguhangire.
The board indicted her on all the five grounds and resolved that these amount to gross misconduct under Section 9.2.2 of UIA Human Resource policy.
The IGG has since cleared her of gross insubordination, incompetence, concealment, misinformation and lying to the board, defiance and misconduct during interdiction.
Her cases. She was also cleared of illegal recruitment of staff, paying of online media news sites to fabricate stories against some staff and receiving a Shs400b bribe from investors. She was also accused of diverting funds from UIA for her travels, and sponsoring her husband’s travel to Russia using UIA resources. But Ms Mariam Wangadya, in her May 7 report found no evidence to show that Ms Kaguhangire had either allowed her husband to use UIA facilities or travel to Russia on company resources.
Who is Robert Mukiza?
Mr Robert Mukiza leads Global and Green Growth Institute (GGGI)’s support to the implementation of the Government of Ethiopia’s Climate Resilience Green Economy strategy. He also leads GGGI’s engagement with the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Prior to GGGI, Mr Mukiza served as a director of Hong Kong-based Acadia Energy, head of the UN Coordination Unit in Botswana, Lead Economist for the UN in the Maldives and a researcher at United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. He has vast experience in international development and the private sector. Mukiza holds a Msc. in International Finance and Economic Development from the University of Kent, a Bsc. in Quantitative Economics from Makerere University and has studied Strategic Leadership at the Said Business School of Oxford University (UK).
