BoU staff expect Kasekende’s contract to be renewed

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Several Bank of Uganda staff expect the contract of the Deputy Governor Dr Louis Kasekende to be renewed in the coming days.

Dr Kasekende’s contract will expire on 18 January 2020, completing a decade in the same position and making him the longest-serving deputy governor. According to several staff members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Kasekende is expected to stay on the job at least until after the 2021 general elections.

“Nearly everyone at the central bank, Ministry of Finance, and perhaps a good majority of the knowledgeable power brokers want to have him in there [at BOU] especially as we head into the tense election season,” said one staff member.

Another staff member said all indications show “the deputy governor was likely to stay on”. The appointment is made by President Museveni but he gets recommendations from different sources.

Also, a source said, there is lobbying from senior Catholics figures in the country that Kasekende stays on in the post – an important aspect politically. But some staff at the central bank said this was minor because there are other senior catholic economists that can take up the post.

Kasekende, 61, first served as the deputy governor between 1999 and 2002. Before then, he had served in different capacities at the central bank –director of Research Department and executive director responsible for research and policy.

He moved on to work as chief economist of the African development bank from 2006 to 2009.

He has previously served as a member of the United Nations Group of Eminent Persons for the Least Developed Countries and on the World Bank Knowledge Advisory Commission.

Kasekende was widely seen as a possible replacement for Governor Emmanuel Mutebile, whose contract will expire in 2021.

When BoU officials appeared before the Parliament Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises last year, Kasekende would come to explain many of the things that had happened at the central bank, coming off as an authoritative, diplomatic, and knowledgeable figure there.

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URN