During the tree planting exercise on Friday, Finance Minister Matia Kasaijja (perhaps inadvertently) said something that gave his audience the impression he wasn’t scared or losing any sleep about the impending cabinet reshuffle.
After thanking his staff for organizing such a well-attended glamorous event, Kasaijja decreed that this tree planting by the Finance Ministry becomes part of the Ministry’s CSR and gets designated as an annual event in the month of May leading up to the budget reading day.
“And in fact for the one of next year I’m going to invite the President and make sure he joins us to preside it over our tree planting as Ministry of Finance,” Kasaijja said innocently making some in his audience wonder whether he was sure he would still be Finance Minister 12 months later.
The audience comprised of his Ministry staff, representatives of KCCA and Ministry of Water & Environment. There was also plenty of free-spirited representatives from CSOs and the NGO world many of whom murmured wondering where Kasaijja was getting the confidence to imagine the upcoming cabinet reshuffle will leave him standing moreover in the same docket.
Wealthy Kasaijja, who has closely known Museveni from their days in FRONASA which he joined after abandoning his teaching job, didn’t seem bothered by those trying to have varied interpretations of the confidence with which he was speaking implying the possibility of continuing to preside over things at Finance whose PSST Keith Muhakanizi and Deputy PSST Patrick Ochailap recently got their contracts renewed meaning they are staying put up to 2022.
Kasaijja, who some fault for endeavoring to mimic the President’s public speech mannerism like ex-VP Gilbert Bukenya used to do, is one of the big name ministers eating on the high table of behalf of the oil-rich Bunyoro sub region. He is actually now the region’s biggest and most senior Minister following the exit of frail old man Henry Muganwa Kajura in 2016. The others are state Ministers including Ernest Kiiza and Public Service’s David Karubanga.
He is also considered safe because his not-so very flamboyant demeanor and loyalty doesn’t portray him as a political threat to President Yoweri Museveni’s political power even in the remotest sense of the word. And his home turf isn’t that much threatened having recently managed to overcome and neutralize Emily Kugonza (a long time campaign manager) who was menacingly looking at his Buyanja County MP Seat. Solution was in splitting the constituency diverting Kugonza to the other part and leaving the indomitable Kasaijja safe and sure of reelection for the remainder of the original Buyanja constituency. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
