The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija, has appointed a new Board of Directors of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), following the expiry of the three-year term for the Board which was appointed in November 2014.
The new Board chaired by Jacqueline Kobusingye Opondo will serve for a period of five years.
While officiating at the farewell and welcome dinner for the outgoing and incoming members of the Board held at the Kampala Serena Hotel, the Minister, who was represented by his Economic Advisor, Wilson Twamuhabwa, lauded the outgoing Board for a job well done in ensuring that the institution and the industry continue to grow. He also challenged the incoming Board to consolidate the gains and strive to build a resilient and strong institution.
“My challenge to the incoming Board which will be steered by Jacqueline Kobusingye Opondo is to consolidate the past gains but also continue to build a strong, vibrant, sound and resilient institution which is effective and efficient”, the Minister said in a speech read for him.
“As a regulator, the public – especially the investors, whom you serve, have very high expectations of you. Equally, the private sector and government which are supposed to tap into the capital markets to raise expansion capital have high expectations,” Kasaija continued.
“Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity to request you to ensure that you live to the aspirations of our country as enshrined in Uganda’s Vision 2040, the National Development Plan II and the 10-year Capital Markets Development Master Plan.”
The Minister cautioned the Board to ensure they remain accountable to the public and pledged the support of the Ministry of Finance to the growth of Uganda’s capital markets.
In her remarks, the incoming Board Chairperson Ms. Kobusingye Opondo thanked the Minister for entrusting her with the responsibility to lead the Board, adding that taking advantage of the opportunities in the capital markets will require collective effort from Government, the CMA and the industry as a whole.
“We need to go beyond increasing awareness and public education to developing innovative products and solutions that will increase access to the capital markets for both investors and issuers”, said Ms Opondo.
She added: “Our capital market has a lot of untapped potential which we are yet to fully maximise both as an industry as well as the private sector and as Government embarks on the massive infrastructure projects both at domestic and regional level, I believe the capital markets are in a good position to partly finance some of these projects.”
In his farewell remarks, the outgoing Board Chairman, Grace Jethro Kavuma commended his colleagues for the support and commitment towards the achievement of CMA’s vision over the period. He also thanked the CMA Management for the continuous efforts towards making the Board work easy and implementing the decisions of the Board.
The CEO of the CMA, Keith Kalyegira also thanked the outgoing Board for their guidance, especially during the development of the Authority’s five year strategic plan and the ten-year Capital Markets Development Master Plan, which is currently in its second year of implementation.
He noted that the capital markets in Uganda still need to grow and that is why the Authority is a strong advocate for pension reforms which aim to among other things, reform the sector and create an additional mandatory scheme or two which will increase capital raising options amongst Ugandan businesses seeking to raise patient capital for expansion, debt refinancing or seeking to reduce their shareholders’ stake in their business.
“I also wish to thank the Hon. Minister of Finance for expeditiously appointing the new Board to ensure a smooth handover and continuity of the operations of the Authority; this is a sign of commitment from Government towards building an efficient and well governed institution,” he said.
The CMA Board is comprised of eleven members including its CEO, who are appointed by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The members represent various institutions in the private and public sectors as prescribed in the CMA Act.
The newly appointed members of the CMA Board are: Jacqueline Kobusingye Opondo (Chairperson and representative of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda), Saul Sseremba (Represents the Insurance Training Institute of Uganda), Fabian Kasi (represents Uganda Bankers Association) Joselyn Kateeba (represents Uganda Manufacturers Association) Irene Lugayizi (Represents the Solicitor General), Stephen Mulema (Represents the Governor Bank of Uganda) and Mr. Joseph Enyimu (Represents the Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Treasury).
Other members include; Donald Nyakairu (Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Bemanya Twebaze (Registrar General) and the CEO. The Authority still awaits the official appointment of one more member who is the representative of the Uganda Law Society.
