Who is Kabagambe Kaliisa?

EXPERIENCED: Mr Kabagambe has been in the oil industry for 30 years. FILE PHOTO

Born in 1954 to Mr Francis Kaliisa and Maria Kasasa Kaliisa in Hoima District, Mr Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of energy and mineral development, is the most experienced and most knowledgeable Ugandan in the oil industry. He has worked at the Energy ministry for 35 years and has been at the heart of Uganda’s oil industry for 20 years.

He went to St. Aloysius Primary School and St. Edwards Secondary School in Kibale District; Makerere College School for his High School certificate and then Makerere University where he graduated with Honours in Geology and Chemistry in 1976. Before going to Australia in 1980 for a post-graduate diploma in Mineral exploration, Mr Kabagambe discovered 12 million tonnes of gypsum, a mineral used in the making of cement in Semiliki, in 1976. Three years later, he discovered 30 million tonnes of Marble in Moyo District.

Mining a family affair
He says mining is just part of his family. His grandfather owned a salt mine - which was expropriated by the British in 1933 - in Kiliro on Lake Albert. He holds a Masters of Science in Petroleum Development Geology from Aberdeen University in United Kingdom.

He has been the head behind the professional teams which formulated the country’s Energy Policy, 2002; The Power Sector Reform Policy, The Electricity Act, The Rural Electrification Strategy plan [2001-2010], The Mining Act, The Petroleum Act, and The National Oil and Gas Policy, 2008. He led the team that packaged the development of the Bujagali hydropower project and now chairs the Rural Electrification Committee and is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

As a gesture in appreciation of his contribution to Bunyoro Kingdom, the King bestowed on him the Mujwarakondo - Lord - title which is given to those who have either brought wealth or defended the kingdom. He says oil means a lot to him because it was the price he paid for the burial of his father.

When his father died, he was in Congo negotiating with the government there on how to drill oil without having conflicts. It is the reason Mr Kabagambe talks about Uganda’s oil industry with passion and nostalgia. “I first came here [Energy ministry] as a young man from Makerere University and I have seen and taken a leading role in the development of the oil industry,” he said. “My happiest moment will be when I see our country getting and utilising the first spoils from our oil.”