KAMPALA – Mr. Taxman has a reason to smile after scooping three accolades from the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) and The League of East African Directors (LEAD) for his exceptional services.
The two awards were presented to the Uganda Revenue Authority – URA by KACITA as the best government agency of the year and to Commissioner General Mr. John Musinguzi as the Most Outstanding Manager of the Year.
LEAD recognized Juma Kisaame, URA’s Board Chairperson as the Best Non-Executive Director of the Year.
Hosted on 23rd November 2023 at Sheraton Hotel Kampala, the awards were aimed to honor the accomplishments of Non-Executive Directors who play a pivotal role in the daily success and growth of businesses across Uganda and the broader East African region.
Presenting to him the accolade at URA head offices on Thursday, Jimmy Serugo, Board Member at LEAD noted that Mr. Kisaame emerged winner of the competitive awards for his exceptional dedication and contributions towards fostering his organization.
“We set up the awards to recognize good performing non-executive directors who are always taught to put their hands off and their noses in always, and they work to improve performance in companies without anyone noticing. So, we thought that they deserve recognition”
He explained that their awards are very transparent – carried out with high value.
“We have an organization, a research and accounting company called the BDO that is responsible for nominations and nomination cores sent out to company secretaries and body secretaries who nominate people they think have contributed to excel in performance to their companies or exceptional performance in their boards.”
He added, “These people are nominated and then sent to a panel of judges. These eminent judges are selected on the basis of their status in society, and previous performance and knowledge. And they go through the nominations and select the people they think meet the criteria for winning an award.”
Accordingly, Kisaame battled Uganda Development Bank’s Mr. Felix Oboi, and Mr. Emanuel Katongole from the Uganda Oil Company.
Mr. Kisaame attributed his prestigious award to the collective effort and commitment of the entire board.
“Together, we have navigated challenges, made informed decisions and had a positive impact on the organisation to which we have a fiduciary responsibility. I am therefore humbled to accept this award on behalf of such an exceptional group of individuals.”
He commended the League of the East African Directors for fueling their passion and motivating public sector entities and improving the quality of corporate governance.
“We want to assure you that we will continue our journey of growth, dedication and commitment to excellence. So thank you very much.”
He also lauded the Commissioner General for his unwavering support, and timely and high-quality reports that have been instrumental in their decision-making process.
Mr. Musinguzi congratulated his boss for his well-deserved win.
“We can attest to that. We know that you have given us great wisdom and guidance, and you have helped us navigate very difficult last three years which have not been easy in our economy. But as an institution, we’ve been able to keep our head high, we’ve been able to achieve the budgets we’ve been given, or at least tried to get very close in the two years but this last one, achieving and surpassing. We could not have done this without the great guidance of our board.”
“The goodness of the Board did not stop at the board level with the board chair. It has gone down to the institution. So before us, we have two other awards by KACITA. We were there physically to receive these awards…there was serious competition with all the other government agencies,” he added.
Mr. Musinguzi noted that the awards can only motivate them to still do a lot of work to get better and give a better service.
“So what we feel this afternoon and what we are celebrating is an encouragement that we are on the right course and it only challenges us to be more committed to put in more effort and work even harder.”
Speaking at the launch of the third NED awards, Ms. Pheona Wall Nabasa – CEO, LEAD told the press that they serve as a foundational platform for Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) aspiring to secure more prominent board roles and offer them an opportunity for professional growth within the governance sector throughout East Africa.
“We’ve seen an impact. From the first time that we launched the awards, one of the things that has happened is that the value of governance has increased. As you can understand, in 2017, the Auditor General’s office in Uganda released a report on governance and it was very damning on banks, private and public companies.”
“But also, we saw in the early 2000s the collapse of banks across the East African region and this was all due to governance issues. Most of these banks were family-owned, and they took a lot of governance issues for granted,” she said.
Ms. Wall revealed that they have registered a growth in the importance of governance.
“In fact, the courts have ruled that now that directors’ duties are no longer just judiciary, they are now legal. You can be arrested for the wrong decisions because the standard for our director now is a standard of skill. It’s no longer to just get anybody.”