MPs summon Kasaija over deputy governor job
Summoned. Finance minister Matia Kasaija has been summoned by Speaker of Parliament to explain the reported crisis at the central bank. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA
What you need to know:
- The Speaker yesterday asked Mr Kasaija to ensure that he reports to Parliament on Thursday to explain measures being taken by his ministry to have the deputy Governor position filled.
Parliament yesterday summoned Finance Minister Matia Kasaija to explain the reported crisis at the Bank of Uganda (BoU) said to have been created by the exit of the deputy Governor, Dr Louis Kasekende.
Mr Michael Mawanda (Igara East) asked Speaker Rebecca Kadaga as a matter of national importance to summon Mr Kasaija to explain why the deputy Governor position remains vacant.
Mr Mawanda later talked of a crisis at the central bank, before telling the House how Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile is overwhelmed because he is juggling two roles of Governor and deputy Governor.
“The position of the deputy Governor has been vacant for some time, and you are aware that the deputy Governor is the vice chairperson of the board, and since there is no deputy, the Governor is deputy to himself,” he said.
“This is a strategic institution and we all know the role BoU plays in our economy and if that position of the deputy Governor is not filled in a short time, we fear that there might be challenges” he added.
Dr Kasekende bid farewell to the central bank staff after his contract expired last month.
“As you already know, my contract as deputy Governor of BoU came to an end on January 14, 2020. I express my profound gratitude to the appointing authority, President Museveni, for according me the opportunity to represent the country in various continental and international assignments,” Mr Kasekende wrote in his farewell letter.
Before Mr Kasekende’s contract expired, Mr Kasaija told Daily Monitor that he had written to the President notifying him about the impending expiry of the contracts for the Governor and his deputy. Mr Mutebile’s contract expires in January next year, but the President did not pronounce himself on the matter.
Mr Kasaija had promised to appoint an acting deputy Governor to replace Mr Kasekende as the President completes the process. The minister had also warned of the vacuum at the central bank.
“If the President has not reacted by January 13, then we shall have a vacuum (at the central bank). He [Kasekende] cannot continue after that day unless the President decides to keep him there for another six months or something like that but I expect the deputy governor to walk out of office the day his contract expires,” Mr Kasaija told Daily Monitor in an interview recently.
The Speaker yesterday asked Mr Kasaija to ensure that he reports to Parliament on Thursday to explain measures being taken by his ministry to have the deputy Governor position filled.
“The minister should come and update us about when we shall get the deputy Governor because despite the resolution of Parliament to separate the management from the board, they are still bound by the old law,” Ms Kadaga ruled.
