IN APPOINTING ALICE MUHOOZI DEPUTY OF JENNIFER MUSISI, MUSEVENI FORGOT GENDER BALANCE

Museveni appoints KCCA deputy executive director Thursday, 24 May 2012 23:47 Written by Siraje Lubwama More than a year after Jennifer Musisi assumed office on April 15, 2011 as executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), President Museveni has finally appointed her deputy, Ms Alice Muhoozi, a source close to State House has told The Observer. News of the appointment of the little-known Muhoozi, which surprised not only City Hall technocrats but also Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, comes at a time when Musisi is in India on a business trip, expected back home at the end of this month. “After considering five people that were recommended to him, and having done his own sourcing, the President has finally zeroed in on Alice Muhoozi, who, if she goes through the vetting process successfully, will be KCCA deputy executive director, in charge of administration, general duties and public relations,” the source, who requested anonymity, told The Observer, Wednesday. The source added that the five individuals from whom Museveni picked Muhoozi included three women and two men. When contacted, the presidential press secretary, Tamale Mirundi, said he was not yet aware of Muhoozi’s appointment. “At times, the people appointed leak the information to the press themselves,” he said. According to our source, once Muhoozi is approved by the Public Service Commission, she will relieve Musisi of most of her current responsibilities in the Authority, leaving the executive director to concentrate on revenue collection and expenditure. Until now, Musisi, who is serving a five-year, renewable term, is charged, under the KCCA Act of 2010, with all executive functions of managing Kampala city, while the Lord Mayor plays a largely ceremonial role in the city. Lord Mayor Lukwago told The Observer yesterday that he was not aware of the appointment, and our efforts to speak to the minister for Security, who is also in charge of Kampala, Muruli Mukasa, were fruitless, as his known telephone was switched off the whole day and we were unable to secure an appointment at his office. KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kauju, said the Authority had not received official communication on the appointment. “It’s not true; it’s speculation,” he told The Observer yesterday. “The position is provided for in the law, but there has been no official communication yet to that effect from State House. Besides, if the person is appointed, he or she will have to go through the Public Service Commission interviews. For now, all that has not happened”. A technical officer in KCCA who requested not to be named, told us: “There’s a male name we’ve been anxiously expecting, but Muhoozi’s name is a surprise to me. [Nonetheless,] we’re ready to receive anyone”. Last year, President Museveni appointed eight directors, three of them women, to head the Authority’s various departments. They are: Jennifer Kaggwa (human resource), Phoebe Lutaaya-Kamya (revenue collection), Harriet Mudondo (gender, community and production), Daniel Kyambadde (treasury services), Andrew Kitaka (works and engineering), Michael Okua (legal affairs), Moses Bwire (internal audit) and George Agaba (physical planning). While four of the directors, like Musisi, their boss, moved to KCCA from the Uganda Revenue Authority, Muhoozi has not worked with the tax body and little is known about her background thus far. A search on the Internet cited her as one of the authors of the Runyankore/Rukiga-English Dictionary published in 2009. Her co-authors are President Museveni, Manuel J.K. Muranga, Aaron Mushengyezi and Gilbert Gumoshabe. slubwama@observer.ug