By John V Sserwaniko
The top bureaucrat President Museveni has lined up to replace outgoing Gender PS Pius Bigirimana has positively been identified. And he is none other than Dr. Joseph Muvawala, the current Executive Director for National Planning Authority (NPA).
Besides heading NPA, amiable Muvawala also serves as the Katukiro/Prime Minister for Busoga kingdom and is actually the only cultural institution official holding such an executive position in a government entity. As was previously reported, Pius Bigirimana has already moved to work with the Judges to replace Kagole Kivumbi the outgoing Secretary to Judiciary.
Muvawala, a seasoned bureaucrat, has previously worked with African Development Bank, Makerere University as an economics lecturer and Ministry of Education of the FX Lubanga era. He is also a member of the Petroleum Fund on top of sitting on several boards including that of Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).
Impeccable sources close to the President have told Mulengera News that the big man from Rwakitura has already written to Public Service directing officials there to regularize sociable Muvawala’s transition from NPA (which falls under the Finance sector) to Gender Ministry where equally high profile Bigirimana is leaving a vacancy.
It’s a Ministry that lately has been attracting lots of donor partnerships besides being home to politically sensitive programs like UWEP and YLP. Muvawala is approachable and an excellent mobilizer making him suitable for Gender on the eve of such a heavily contested election that 2021 threatens to be.
Being Gender Ministry PS automatically qualifies Dr. Muvawala to sit on the Board of NSSF whose control is being transferred from the Finance Ministry to that of Gender increasing the suitability of having a seasoned economist there as PS. He will also automatically become Board member for UMEME whose stakeholders have loudly rejected Bigirimana saying he is too complicated to do business with. The grand move to reject Bigirimana has been led by none other than UMEME Board Chairman Patrick Bitature.
They have always maintained they are ready to accept anybody else from NSSF but not Bigirimana in whose favor even the D/AG Mwesigwa Rukutana had written buttressing an earlier directive by the President. So lucrative is the UMEME Board membership, each member earns a monthly retainer of $10,000 which comes close to Shs40m. That is earned whether there is any sitting or not. It doesn’t include the sitting allowances that are equally hefty.
But most importantly, Museveni must have considered Muvawala suitable for the Gender Ministry because of his vast experience dealing with people and also kingdom matters being the Katukiro for Busoga, one of the mighty kingdoms in Uganda.
He is also calm, mature, exposed, well-polished and restrained; credentials badly needed to exorcist creeping tendencies of intrigue and cronyism at the Simbamanyo house-based Ministry. Muvawala is also youth-friendly, selfless and team player famous for delegating work and mentoring younger ones. It’s on record that (notwithstanding Pius’ efforts) for long Ministers Janet Mukwaya, Nakiwala Kiyingi and Herbert Kabafunzaki weren’t seeing eye to eye and their differences were increasingly making it hard for the accounting officer to have a cohesive team of the non-political office holders. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
