Government is spearheading plans to repatriate the body of former Permanent Secretary in the Office of Prime Minister, Keith Muhakanizi from Milan, Italy where he breathed his last Thursday night.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja told journalists on Friday that due to his dedicated and long service in government, Muhakanizi will be accorded a decent send-off.
“On behalf of the government, I take the honour to inform the country that we have lost the Permanent Secretary in the Office of Prime Minister, Keith Muhakanizi who has been in service for quite some time,” Ms Nabbanja said.
“We are currently engaged in a number of meetings to bring his body back and to give him a decent sendoff,” she added.
President Museveni has the discretion to accord an official burial.
Muhakanizi, 64, was one of the longstanding technocrats in the Museveni government. He served as Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury (PS ST) at the Ministry of Finance for over a decade before he was moved to the OPM.
Background
Muhakanizi, who until his death was the last man standing in an elite league of the late Chris Kassami and late Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, spent decades at the Ministry of Finance since graduation from Makerere University.
In July 2021, President Museveni sent Muhakanizi to Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) as Permanent Secretary.
As a macro- economist, and a public sector management specialist, Mr Muhakanizi helped in the formulation of National Development Plans, Public Finance and Management Act, The Bank of Uganda Act among others.
He also played a key role in revenue mobilisation, introduced commitment control systems that guided development and execution of economic policies for more than a decade at the Ministry of Finance.
As a young graduate economist, Muhakanizi rose through the ranks to the prestigious role of Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, replacing his former boss, the late Kassami who retired in 2013 and died in 2016 at a Nairobi hospital.
Muhakanizi served as a member of the boards for the several organisations. He served on BoU board, was chairman of East African Development Bank and chairman of Housing Finance Bank Limited and worked with the various ministries, agencies and government departments to streamline accountability and budget discipline.
As PS in the OPM, a ministry responsible for coordinating, monitoring, and supervising government programmes and projects, Mr Muhakanizi wrote in one of his last memos on iron sheets scandal, guiding subordinates on the rightful procedures of official communication as stipulated in the standing orders (Uganda Public Service Standing Orders 2021) and management of public resources.
In the February 15 circular, he wrote that “requisitions [to stores] from user departments shall be originated and or endorsed by the head of department before submission to the accounting officer.
Where requests have been originated by ministers/political leaders, local government or other stakeholders, technical assessments of the requests shall be carried out by the responsible department prior to approval by the accounting officer.”
