Finance guru Keith Muhakanizi is dead

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | Keith Muhakanizi, described as one of the architects of Uganda’s post-86 economic recovery, has died, government spokemsman Ofwono Opondo has confirmed.

Ofwono said on twitter, “SAD! A friend to many. Keith Muhakanizi, Permanent Secretary Prime Minister’s Office, and former long-serving PS Ministry of Finance & Secretary to the Treasury has died from a Milan, Italy hospital where he has receiving treatment. May he Rest in Peace.”

Earlier, journalist  Raymond Mujuni had tweeted, “Keith Muhakanizi, one of the architects of Uganda’s post-86 economy and long-serving secretary to the treasury has passed on, family sources confirm.”

SAD! A friend to many. Keith Muhakanizi, Permanent Secretary Prime Minister's Office, and former long-serving PS Ministry of Finance & Secretary to the Treasury has died from a Milan, Italy hospital where he has receiving treatment. May he Rest in Peace. @UgandaMediaCent pic.twitter.com/24CVbJ5ePz

— Ofwono Opondo P'Odel (@OfwonoOpondo) April 13, 2023

The Government Spokesperson and Executive Director at the Media Centre Opondo confirmed that Muhakanizi had been at the hospital several times even before he was appointed PS in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Prior to his move to the OPM in 2020, he had been a long-serving Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, having been appointed in 2013.

Most of his active life was at the Finance Ministry and, together with the late Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, he was credited for the economic reform of the country and the public finance management.

This included creating a single treasury account for government finances.

“Keith knew the economics. Keith and Mutebile were the two civil servants in the Bank of Uganda who would hold their ground in front of the President,” said Opondo.  He will, among other things, be remembered for his strong principles, especially against government excesses and over-borrowing.

Muhakanizi was born in Rukungiri District to the late Rev. Kosia Kajwengye and the late Zeridah Kajwengye.

Rosa Malango, the Director of UN Regional Economic Commissions in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, who was UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, mourned him.

“As PS Ministry of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury, he fought to ensure the alignment of development assistance to national priorities,” she said in a tweet.

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