By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Dr.Atingi-Ego assumed his role as the Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda, on Monday August 03, 2020, following his appointment by His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on April 23, 2020.
Dr. Atingi-Ego, replaced Dr.Louis Kasekende, whose contract expired early this year. He is a seasoned Economist who has served in several capacities at various institutions and brings a wealth of experience to the position of Deputy Governor. He started his career at BoU in August 1984, rising through the ranks to become the Executive Director, Research.
In 2008 he took up an assignment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) serving as Deputy Director of the African Department (AFR). While at the IMF, he was instrumental in enhancing the effectiveness of capacity development; modernizing monetary policy frameworks in developing countries; and improving macroeconomic statistics in sub-Saharan Africa.
From September 2018 until the date of his appointment as Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda, Mr. Atingi-Ego was the Executive Director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), a multinational capacity building institute based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Dr. Atingi-Ego holds a PhD in Economics from Liverpool University (1996), a MSc. Economics in International Economics and Banking from Cardiff Business School, University of Wales (1991), and a BSc. Economics from Makerere University.
Replacing Kasekende With Atingi-Ego
Kasekende, a Ugandan economist began his five-year term in this position on 18 January 2010. This marked the second time that he was being appointed to this office, having served in the same capacity from 1999 until 2002 until expiry of his contract in January this year with hope for renewal which was disregarded.
During his service as BoU deputy governor, Kasekende’s name cropped up in scandals related to numerous complaints about the closure of seven commercial banks by BoU between 1993 and October 2016. The banks closed include; mogul Sudhir Ruparelia’s Crane Bank Limited (CBL), Teefe Trust Bank, Greenland Bank, International Credit Bank, Cooperative Bank, National Bank of Commerce, Global Trust Bank Uganda.
His downfall can also easily be associated with his close association with the former Executive Directive in charge of Supervision Justine Bagyenda. The two planned and plotted together and it was during their time that most commercial banks closed.
To verify complaints against BoU by owners of defunct banks, Vide letter Ref:AB:70/2gg/01, dated 28th November, 2017, Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) requested the Auditor General to undertake a special audit of the closure of commercial banks by BoU. The Auditor General’s findings would later unearth a lot of rot about Kasekende and other top BoU officials in regards to selling the said commercial banks.
Kasekende angered the Auditor General and COSASE when he tried to block the probe of BoU over the closed banks, arguing that there was a related case in court which would make the investigation subjudice and as such he could not cooperate with the Auditor General John Muwanga. However, the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga insisted that Muwanga does his investigation job as it did not in any way violate the subjudice rule.
Kasekende and other top officials bowed to Kadaga’s instructions and allowed Muwanga to do his job of probing BoU. However, it would later then turn out that BoU officials didn’t give Muwanga’s team full cooperation as they intentionally declined to provide vital documents for the audit. Muwanga noted the complaint in his August, 2018 report to parliament.
When COSASE began probing BoU over Muwanga’s report in late October 2018, the officials led by Kasekende would appear without the same documents, which forced the MPs to send the team away. A few days later the nation was shocked when BoU officials led by Kasekende appeared in parliament again without the documents. Kasekende and other BoU senior would later turn up with some documents they had intentionally left behind to conceal evidence on irregular closure of banks by way of not following the processes and guidelines. Shortly thereafter, a video from the BoU Security Desk leaked, in which Bagyenda had been filmed by CCTV cameras leaving the bank with huge sacks full of documents.
