President Museveni Nominates Josephine Okui Okwakol As Next Bank Of Uganda Governor

President Yoweri Museveni has nominated experienced accountant Josephine Okui Okwakol Ossiya, for the post of Governor of the Bank of Uganda, BOU.

The post fell vacant in January 2021 following the death of long-serving Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile. Since then, Deputy Governor and Deputy Board Chairperson, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego has been Acting Governor, and chairing the board.

He has been credited by the International Monetary Fund for navigating the microeconomics of the country through the global and local financial turmoil, most of which are a result of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

These mainly include the relative stability of the foreign exchange rate and the control of inflation “within manageable levels.

Atingi-Ego has also maintained BOU’s stance against the high borrowing rates and the size of public administration.

President Museveni has for more than two years kept the country guessing as to why the appointment of Mutebile’s replacement was taking too long and who the next head of the government’s banker would be.

Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament confirmed that Ossia underwent the vetting session by Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

“The Committee will communicate its decision to the appointing authority,” said Tayebwa in a tweet.

Ossiya, a Certified Public Accountant is one of the seven members of the Board of Directors of BOU, and chairs the Strategy and Finance Committee of the Board (SFCB) and sits on the Audit and Governance Committee.

This strategic and finance committee “ensures that the financial resources of the Bank are appropriately deployed to meet BOU’s strategic priorities. It also provides oversight of risk and IT governance.

If approved by Parliament, Ossiya will become chairperson of the board, deputized by Dr Atingi-Ego.

She will also be the institution’s Chief Executive Officer because, Article 161 [2] of the 1995 Constitution, “vests the authority of Bank of Uganda in the Board of Directors, which also has the ultimate responsibility for the management, general affairs, direction, performance and long- term success of the Bank.”Ossiya was appointed to the board by President Museveni in 2018 replacing the late Ibrahim Kabanda.

She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK, and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors Inc. US and member Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda, ICPAU.

She also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (International Business). She was appointed a member of the new Governing Council of ICPAU last month.

Ossiya also sits on the board of Britam Holdings Ltd, an insurance solutions company, and has also worked as Chief Finance Officer at Bujagali Energy Ltd.

She has an experience of more than 20 years as a practicing accountant, working as a partner at Rona & Partners Certified Public Accountants in areas of finance, audit, treasury management, risk management, general management, and board governance.

-URN