Ssewungu queries delayed appointment of BOU governor

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kalungu West Member of Parliament, Joseph Ssewungu has raised concern about the delayed appointment of the Central Bank Governor.

Ssewungu raised the issue during the plenary sitting on Wednesday and recounted that for more than a year, the Central Bank has operated without a substantive Governor, who should legally be the Chief Executive Officer and the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Uganda.

The Governor is mandated to promote monetary policies and processes, ensure that regulated firms are financially sound and safely managed, convene and preside over the meetings of the bank’s board of directors and supervise the bank’s staff. The Bank of Uganda Act stipulates that the governor and his Deputy shall be appointed by the President with approval from the cabinet.

The last person to hold the position was Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, who however passed on last year after holding the position since 2001. A year after his demise, MP Ssewungu demanded that the President needs to be reminded about the absence of a Governor.

In response to MP Ssewungu’s query, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa said that the leadership of Parliament had engaged President Yoweri Museveni about the Central Bank Governor’s appointment and he hinted that he is still thinking about it.

According to Tayebwa, the issue was brought to the attention of the President during a meeting with the leadership of parliament and he promised to take action.

But Ssewungu insisted that the President is further reminded since the position of Governor is key in the country’s economy and needed to be filled soon. Tayebwa assured Ssewungu that the President will be reminded about the issue.

Some of the personalities that have been mentioned to replace Mutebile include Michael Atingi-Ego, the Deputy Governor, who has been at the helm of the Bank of Uganda since the former Governor’s death.

The others mentioned are former Deputy Governor Dr Louis Kasekende, Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Principal Wasswa Balunywa, Makerere University Chancellor Dr Ezra Suruma, Adam Mugume, the Director of Research and Policy at the Bank of Uganda and others.

*****

URN