Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile: Bank of Uganda highlights its Board's
achievements
Speech by Mr Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of the Bank of Uganda, at the
farewell dinner for board members, Kampala, 1 June 2012.
* * *
Distinguished Board Members and your families,
The Deputy Governor,
Senior Management of the Bank,
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the management and staff of the Bank of Uganda, I wish to welcome you all to
this occasion to bid farewell to our Board Members whose term of service comes to an end in
June 2012. For the last five years, the Bank has been blessed with a formidable Board of
Directors who has carried out its mandate of providing oversight of, and guidance to, the
management of the Bank with integrity, intelligence, wisdom and an unwavering commitment
to the public interest.
The vision and stewardship provided by the Board has enabled the Bank to strengthen the
implementation of its core mandate of macroeconomic management and financial sector
regulation and to implement many projects which have enhanced the capacity of the Bank to
serve the people of Uganda. I would like to take a few minutes to highlight some of the
Board's achievements.
Strategic planning and management
The Board approved the Bank of Uganda Strategic Plan for 2012-2017, which guides the
long term policies and direction of the bank. It is based on the Balanced Scorecard approach
which is at the cutting edge of international best practice.
Monetary policy
Under the Board's leadership, the Bank has modernised its monetary policy operating
framework. This has entailed the introduction of an inflation targeting lite monetary policy
framework, the centrepiece of which is the policy rate - the Central Bank Rate - which I now
announce at the start of every month. Over the past 11 months, we have successfully used
our new monetary policy framework to bring inflation under control. Our monetary policy
operations have also been made much more transparent, to enhance public understanding
of our actions and objectives.
Financial system regulation and supervision
With the guidance of the Board, the Bank has modernised its approach to the prudential
supervision of banks, in particular through the introduction of risk based supervision. The
Bank has also upgraded many aspects of the banking laws, including by raising minimum
capital requirements and strengthening the regulations pertaining to the corporate
governance of banks.
Human resource policies and staff welfare
The Board has prompted the Bank to introduce progressive human resource and staff
welfare policies. In particular, the Bank has established a merit driven promotional regime.
Other significant achievements in the area of human resources are the streamlining of the
salary structure, measures to guarantee the sustainability of the Retirement Benefits Scheme
and the succession management policy. The Bank can now confidently boast that the
working conditions of its staff compare favourably with conditions in other institutions in the
financial sector and the public service.
Information technology
The Board has spearheaded the computerisation of the functions and operations of the
Bank. Computerisation is essential to promote efficiency, security, reliability and availability
of services in real time. Included among the many examples of computerisation in the Bank
are the BoU Banking System, the Human Resources Management System and the
upgrading of the Uganda National Interbank System.
New family of banknotes
The Bank introduced a new family of banknotes in 2010; the first time since the 1980s that
new bank notes had been introduced. The Board played a major role in overseeing the
design of the new banknotes, which incorporate many state of the art security features and
have earned international recognition. Our new UGX50,000 bank note was given the award
of the best bank note of the year in 2011 by the International Bank Society. The International
Association of Currency Affairs conferred the award of best new bank currency series in the
world on the new family of notes.
Projects and infrastructure development
The Board has also guided the Bank in the implementation of major capital projects which
have strengthened its capacity to deliver services up country. Examples include the
construction of the Mbale Branch and the Kabale Currency Centre.
On behalf of Management and Staff of the Bank, I want to thank all Board members for a job
well done. Your contribution as Board members to our Bank and to public policy making in
this country has been invaluable. It is a contribution for which you can justifiably take pride
and I hope that your achievements in this regard will be widely recognised in our society.
With these few remarks, I would like to wish you success for all of your endeavours in the
future and for the good health of yourself and your families.
Thank you for listening.