Deputy BoU Governor Kasekende hands over office after failing to secure contract extension

Dr Louis Kasekende. 

As all things finally come to an end at one point in time, Bank of Uganda (BoU) Deputy Governor Dr Louis Kasekende’s reign at the Central Bank has come to an end, after waiting for news of a contract renewal that never came.

Dr Kasekende joined BoU in 1986 and prior to serving as Deputy Governor for the first time in 1999, he served as Director of Research and Executive Director of Research and Policy at the bank. He had a stint at World Bank and was appointed Deputy Governor for the second time on January 18, 2010, a position he has held until today.

In the months leading to Kasekende’s contract expiration, he has employed the persuasion services of colleagues at the bank, friends at Ministry of Finance like Minister Matia Kasaija and Treasury Secretary Keith Muhakanizi, and clergymen among others to persuade President Museveni to renew his contract in vain.

As required by BoU regulations, an official has to hand over office to their supervisor if their contract has not been renewed prior to their expiration, and Kasekende has rightly done so today.

It is widely believed that Kasekende ran out of favour for reappointment after his name was mentioned numerous titles during the Parliamentary Committee on Committees, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) probe into the closure of seven indigenous banks. However, the report that was produced out of the probe exonerated him.

We wait to see who the President appoints to the job, but reports suggest that Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Principal Prof Wasswa Balunywa is the favourite to fill the position.