Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Dr.Louis Kasekende is preparing to replace aging Governor Tumusiime Mutebile, sources at the bank say. Kasekende over the last one year has become more visible than his boss, often taking centre stage at events to which Mutebile ordinarily could have been invited.
“It is a matter of time before Kasekende takes over,” a source at Bank of Uganda speaking on condition of anonymity told this reporter.
Previously press shy, Louis Kasekende is giving press interviews almost every week. He is also making presentations at several conferences in his capacity as deputy governor.
At the latest seventh International Leadership Conference, in Entebbe, held on Wednesday, Dr.Kasekende spoke about the growth of the mobile money sector, which he said had expanded banking to spaces it would never have reached.
When press reports alleged that foreign minister Sam Kutesa had asked for a ‘bribe’ from a chinese official for business favors in Uganda, Kasekende’s name was mentioned as the person at Bank of Uganda who could provide details of a bank that might be on sale.
Dr.Louis Kasekende has been deputy governor twice. He was also Chief Economist at the African Development Bank (AfDB).
AfDB gave a profile of Kasekende as follows;
Dr Louis Kasekende is Deputy Governor at the Bank of Uganda He recently served at the African Development Bank as Chief Economist, a position he held for three and a half years. Previously he served as Alternate Executive Director and later as Executive Director at the World Bank for Africa Group 1, including 22 countries mostly from Anglophone Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to joining the World Bank, he served as Deputy Governor at the Bank of Uganda from 1999 to 2002; Executive Director Research and Policy at the Bank of Uganda from 1994 to 1999; Director of the Research Department at the Bank of Uganda from 1992 to 1994. After completing his studies at Makerere University, he tutored at the University before proceeding for his post-graduate studies at the University of Manchester.
During his studies at the University of Manchester, he tutored in the department of Econometrics. Between 1991 and 1996 he lectured part-time in the MA Program in Economic Policy and Planning at Makerere University. He is a member of the United Nations Group of Eminent Persons for the Least Developed Countries and was recently appointed to the Financial Stability Board taskforce on Emerging Markets and Developing Economies.
Dr Kasekende holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Makerere University, Diploma in Econometrics, Masters of Arts and Ph.D in Econometrics of University of Manchester. He has authored several articles in academic journals and two books.
